Guardians of Legend
by blondie91
Summary: Far below Hyrule’s surface, a temple was discovered. How it got there? No one knows. Hired to serve as a bodyguard, Link gets pulled into yet another adventure of epic proportions as he accompanies the assembled exploration team into the ancient unknown.
1. Hard Feelings

_**Guardians of Legend  
**_By: blondie91

_Legends usually begin when a powerful evil takes over a land and a hero rises up against incredible odds to stop it. However, much like the case when the Hero of Time defeated the Evil King, sometimes that evil can not be entirely destroyed. Instead it must be locked away in a place it can never escape from. Well, at least a place that will hopefully keep it contained._

_In order to keep Ganondorf from creating more destruction, the sages locked him away in the Evil Realm. Once peace was restored to the land of Hyrule with his downfall and his reign of terror erased from the minds of all with the reverse of time, the people began to expand to new horizons. An age of enlightenment had struck the people of Hyrule…an age where they were thirsting for knowledge._

_Even though only those directly involved knew of the Gerudo king's existence, there was an even greater evil that had roamed the earth long before him that not even they knew about. This evil had to be stopped and the four heroes that rose up against it were forced to lock it away for it was so strong that they feared even death could not keep it from returning. In order to make sure the evil remained in its prison, the three golden goddesses blessed the four heroes with the gift of eternal youth so that they who possessed the power to bring this evil down could watch over the gateway to its prison and make sure that it could never escape. _

_Thousands of years later when the people of Hyrule began their quest for knowledge, the temple that held this evil was discovered. Although they did not know what rested deep within, it was an ancient structure that they felt had been left up to them to explore. Such ignorant fools they were… _

**Chapter 1  
****Hard Feelings**

Night shadows clung menacingly to the walls of Hyrule Castle Town. No light penetrated through the inky darkness that the lack of moonlight created. While most people were lost in the peaceful realms of sleep, a few others crept about…some of those few had very devious intentions.

Two wanted criminals, known as Bernard and Leon, crept through the market having found this night fit to get away with yet another robbery. "Hand me the scrap piece of metal we brought, my daggers too big to fit in this lock," the one known as Leon demanded.

"Er…uh…there's a bit of a problem. You see, I think I've gone and dropped it…" came Bernard's hesitant reply.

"You clumsy buffoon, you had better help me find it!" Both men dropped to the ground and began feeling around for the object.

"Lose something, boys?" a masculine voice spoke casually from the shadows.

Doing a terrible job of hiding his fear, Leon had no problem telling a lie. "Why yes. It seems as though I've dropped the key to my shop and I'm in desperate need of something I left inside."

"Hey, I didn't know you had a shop--…Ow!" Bernard yelped.

"You idiot!"

"The two of you had better stay right where you are if you want to live," that same voice from just before hissed venomously. "I can't abide thieves and liars."

"Why don't you show yourself, you coward!" Leon screamed into the enveloping darkness as he jumped up and drew his dagger from the side of his belt.

However, that dagger didn't stay in his hand for very long. There was an echoing crack as his arm was twisted and bent backwards. Following this, there was a loud clang as the dagger clattered to the ground.

"M-my arm!" Leon wailed miserably as pain laced its way through his injured limb.

"Get up against the wall now!" Both men jumped at this sharp command and timidly did as they were bidden.

"Please don't hurt us, we never meant no harm…" Bernard whined pitifully.

"Oh really now? These people work hard for their money! What makes you think that you have the right to just waltz on in and take it? In fact, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you…" The darkness that had inhabited the market since the coming of night had suddenly vanished, destroyed by the lantern light that now illuminated the area.

"It's good to see you again, Link. There's no need for bloodshed. Let my guards take them away to the prison," a female voice abruptly cut through the tension.

The light had revealed two stout men standing with their backs pressed against the wall with one of them cradling their arm, their attacker had also been revealed. The two men were astounded when they saw that it was just a mere boy of about seventeen garbed in an odd green tunic who had opposed them.

"Hey now, that just ain't right!" Leon muttered in pure indignation.

Three men clad in the armor of Hyrule's Royal Guard approached the two criminals and proceeded to take them away. They did this quickly and soon it was just Link and the girl who had addressed him as such. Link had yet to turn and face her.

"Those two have eluded the law's grasp for some time now; to apprehend them so quickly is truly an amazing feat." The heels of her shoes clicking on the hard ground resounded around them, it really made Link wonder how her approach had gone unnoticed.

"So what exactly brings you here at three in the morning, Princess Zelda?" he spat, turning upon her in one fluid movement.

"You do actually," she replied with ease; a smirk tugged at the corners of her thin lips.

"Would you mind explaining further?" he asked her.

"Hmph, you're always asking questions and trying to get straight to the point. Why can't we just talk? Maybe even go back to the good old days when we were in love?"

"That time is long gone. You will gain nothing by bringing that up again," Link growled, but even he could not hide the hurt that sparkled in his cerulean eyes. "Now what do you want from me?"

Zelda twiddled her fingers through her golden blonde hair and her sapphire blue eyes stared intently into his. "I'm sure you've heard of the temple that was uncovered just recently out in Hyrule Field. I am going with a small team to explore this temple. In order for my father to let me go however, I was told I would have to find a bodyguard better than any of the knights that serve under him."

"And that's where I come in," Link stated, meeting her gaze.

"Exactly, so will you go along with it?"

"After what has happened in the past, I have every obligation to say no," Link began, "but…as long as you don't pull anything, I will accept the job."

Zelda's face brightened considerably, "Good! I'm assuming you don't want any pay…?"

_Dangit! She knows me too well…_ Link thought dejectedly, but soon hatched up a quick change in plans. "Actually, some pay for my services would be nice…"

"Not a problem, we can settle that once the expedition is over. Meet us all here at noon tomorrow. Oh, and you had better not be late."

"That I can do," Link replied as the two of them turned to go their separate ways. "You gonna be ok walkin' home by yourself, princess?"

"Of course," she snapped.

Link sighed; he missed the old and much nicer Zelda…

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Well, what'd ya think? I'm really looking forward to seeing how well I do with this fanfic, especially with what I have planned as it gets farther into it. This chapter was short…but I'm really just tryin' to get it going. I'll try to get the next chapter up no later then this Sunday…but this could change if anything comes up.

-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own The Legend of Zelda.


	2. Impatient As Ever

**Chapter 2  
Impatient As Ever**

"Where is he?" Princess Zelda growled angrily to herself. "I should have known he would pull something like this!"

"I thought this bodyguard of yours was supposed to have shown up an hour ago…?" questioned a man with snowy-white hair.

"I thought so too…" Zelda muttered in reply.

"Sorry I'm late, I musta overslept…" Zelda's ears pricked up at the sound of Link's voice.

She turned and immediately bombarded him with her rage, "You were supposed to be here a while ago and your excuse is that you slept in?"

"I said I was sorry. Besides, I had a rough night last night if you care to recall it," Link said with a cheeky grin.

"Why you--…" Zelda began, but Link hurriedly cut her off.

"Are you going to introduce me to your companions or not?"

"I'm Dr. Shivens," the older, white-headed man spoke up for himself and offered a hand. "I believe you are Link?"

"Yup, that'd be me," Link awkwardly shook the offered hand.

Around them the bustling life of the market place continued on undisturbed, making it easy for Link to distinguish exactly how many were going with them…besides Zelda, Dr. Shivens, and him…there were only three others.

"This is Ami Lynne," Zelda indicated a petite woman who looked to be about in her mid-twenties. She was the only other female going on the expedition…Although in a field such as this, females were not something to be seen everyday. Ami merely nodded at him.

The last two were introduced to him as Byron and Eliot Knish; it was obvious the two were brothers and that there was also a difference in age between the two. Byron looked to be in his upper twenties while Eliot looked to be in his mid-twenties. The younger was short and chubby while the older one was tall and thin. They both had similar facial structures and their hair was short and brown. Basically, Link and Zelda were the youngest by several years going on this little excursion.

"Now that that's out of the way, I suggest we continue on and get to the temple," Dr. Shivens said.

Each person had their own small bag of necessary supplies and for the most part they carried their own. Link just happened to get stuck carrying the princess' necessities as well. Much to his surprise, it felt as if she had packed light.

The procession headed off and steadily made their way through the market, across the drawbridge, and out to Hyrule Field. Despite its being quite a ways a way, the boundaries of the temple site could be seen from where they were.

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Locked away in one of the few cells of Hyrule's prison, was Bernard and Leon…their sentence had yet to be determined, but they had a feeling it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Where does a kid get off doin' this to us?" Leon growled angrily. "It just isn't right…"

"And what do you expect me to do about it?" Bernard spat moodily.

"Don't you want any revenge on that ungrateful little runt? After all, it is mostly his fault we're stuck in here now."

"Nope, I believe it is your fault. I never shoulda listened to you an' your get-rich-quick schemes," Bernard retorted as he turned his back to his partner in crime.

"But--…" Leon tried in his defense. Bernard however, cut him short.

"But nothin', I'm tired of all yer crap!"

"Quiet down in there!" one of the guards rapped their spear on the cell door.

A gloomy silence fell between the two men until Leon ventured to break it with a whisper, "Well, I'm gonna find some way outta here. Feel free to just sit there."

Bernard ignored him and lied down to catch a bit of sleep before their sentences were given. Leon was intent on finding an escape route and went about his hunt, quietly though as he did not want to alert the guard to what he was up to. Bernard would see things his way when he got them out of there, and then he would be reestablished leader of the two…he was certain of this.

After a long while of unsuccessful searching in their small cell, Leon gave up and slumped down in an unhappy state against the wall. Bernard's soft snores echoed around him. Leon soon found himself drifting off to sleep as well…

Before sleep had fully taken him, a sudden shout was heard from outside his cell. He jumped up with a start as the shouting continued. His vision was obscured however as the cell was simply four solid walls with a grating over the small window that resided towards the top of the door.

He gave Bernard a slight kick to awaken him as he quickly dashed to that grating so he could take a look at what was going on. "Yes, Bernard! It's a prison break!" he excitedly exclaimed.

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First there had been evidence found that something more then what the eye could see was there, far beneath the surface. Only the person who had found that evidence and supposedly the king, who had evidently provided the funding for the dig, knew what exactly that evidence was. Whether there really was this so called evidence or not, a temple had been found many feet beneath the ground.

It had taken a lot of manpower and many days to dig up what they had. Though the entirety of the temple had not been uncovered, the entrance most certainly had. And now before this entrance stood the specially selected team of researchers, the princess, and Link.

"Come on, we don't have all day you know," Dr. Shivens berated Link as the teenager struggled to get the door open. The door was quite large in size and made of wood with faded designs carved into it. Despite its fragile appearance, it was no lightweight and the lucky task of trying to get it open had befallen upon Link…seeing as how he was the only one who really cared for his physical strength with the others being just scholars who had no real need or care for that.

No one had been there when they arrived like they should have. It was almost eerie with how the area had been deserted…Maybe if they were superstitious, they would have seen this as a bad omen.

"Has anyone…ever been able to…open this door…since this place…was found?" Link gritted out as he continued to 'fight' with it.

"I believe not," Ami replied as she helped the others get the lanterns lit. "We didn't want anyone else tampering with whatever is inside before we got to it. I never imagined it would be this much of a problem…you can open it, right?"

"Maybe…" Link cast Zelda a pleading look.

"I can't, not with them looking," she mouthed in reply.

Link put an immediate halt to his effort and walked off to a different section of the cavernous area as if looking for something to help get the door open with. He gave Zelda a wink before disappearing into the shadows. After a moment, his voice was heard. "Er…that's not normal. Dr. Shivens, I think I found something!"

Dr. Shivens along with Ami, Byron, and Eliot, hurried off to where Link had gone. Knowing this was an opportunity he had purposely given her, Princess Zelda faced the door and went into deep concentration. A pink light soon surrounded it and it opened. Surprisingly enough, it made hardly a sound.

The four researchers hadn't seen a thing. When Link saw she had done it, he sheepishly explained, "Oops, my bad. I guess my eyes were just playin' tricks on me." Without comment, they headed back to where Zelda was.

"How did--?" Eliot began when he saw the door standing ajar.

"It came open on its own…" Zelda lied.

Her explanation seemed reasonable enough, so they didn't question it, but Dr. Shivens did whisper something in her ear. "This bodyguard of yours doesn't seem too bright." Link caught what he had said and heat rose in his cheeks as anger filled him; even more so when Zelda didn't stick up for him. "This temple will surely be filled with booby traps. I suggest we have the assumed to be excellent fighter go first," he went on as if completely oblivious to Link's rage.

Link snatched the spare lantern offered to him and stomped into the structure whilst muttering something incomprehensible under his breath.

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Well, I'm relieved to have this chapter over with. I knew getting them into the temple would be hard to write while trying to keep it interesting, and what do ya know…I turned out right. I'm sorry if that chapter was a major bore but sometimes these types of chapters are needed. Thank you very much reviewers! To view replies for the last chapter, go to the homepage button on my profile page and they'll be there.

-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I don't own The Legend of Zelda.


	3. Decisions

**Chapter 3  
****Decisions**

The inside was dark; therefore the lanterns definitely came in handy. The others filed in silently behind Link as he led the way. The first thing they came upon was a large room and Dr. Shivens immediately had everyone scatter about the area to see if they could find anything. The room seemed pretty bare though, with plain stone walls and empty space being what made up the most of it. Princess Zelda merely followed Link, seeing as how he was her bodyguard and all.

Link's keen eyes abruptly made out the outline of something amidst the flickering shadows. As he crept closer to whatever it was so he could get a better look at it with his lantern light, a repulsive stench suddenly infiltrated his nostrils. Zelda must have smelled it too, as he heard her emit a small gasp of disgust.

In that corner…was a dead body. Though all that was left was a skeleton since it had apparently decayed long ago, an awful smell still clung to it and that was what they could smell now.

"How do you think that got there…?" the princess asked softly. It seemed to Link that she had changed in behavior since this morning…it was quite weird.

"I don't know but I'm sure your researchers will wanna take a look at this," Link calmly replied instead of referring to her odd conduct.

"Take a look at what?" Ami asked as she suddenly popped up beside them. Link nearly jumped out of his skin from surprise but kept this fact hidden, simply indicating the bones. "Dr. Shivens, Byron, Eliot…get over here!" she immediately called; her voice echoed around them.

The three named didn't waste any time in joining them. "Whoa, how do you think this guy died?" Eliot asked.

"By the way the bones are cracked, I'd say this poor fellow may have been crushed to death," Dr. Shivens concluded after a momentary silence. "I suggest we move along and see if we can find anything else. We don't have all day you know."

They knew Dr. Shivens was right, and they continued on; only to be stopped before even getting out of that room because there were three hallways that branched from it to choose from. Link picked the center path and kept walking; at least until he was stopped by the others.

"Oh come on, what path would you like to take then?" Link snapped bitterly.

"I say we take the left," Byron said.

"I agree," Eliot and Ami quickly stated together.

"You people just don't want to go with the center path because I picked it out…" Link muttered.

"Maybe so, but I suppose it is the left path we shall take then," Dr. Shivens stated.

Link looked to Zelda for help, but she only stared at the ground.

"Kit…ty!" came a faint voice; it was so faint, Link almost thought he was just hearing things. By the way no one said anything about it, he had a feeling that he had also been the only one to hear it.

"Let's get a move on. Lead the way, boy," Dr. Shivens ordered.

"We should take the center path, I heard something coming from that direction," Link argued.

Byron shook his head in annoyance, "Grow up. Just because you're mad that you didn't get your way doesn't mean that you have to go making crap like that up."

"Kit…ty!" There it was again…and still Link appeared to be the only one that had heard it.

"No, I'm not making things up…come on!" Link exclaimed as he took off down the center path.

Byron however, stuck out his foot and tripped him before he could get very far. Link skidded across the ground when he hit it and one of the floor stones was pushed down as if it were a button. Suddenly there was a low rumble and a click. Link got up and brushed himself off. "Byron, you idiot!" Ami hissed.

The stone walls of the first room started shifting inwards, quite rapidly too. The entrance was the first thing to be sealed off, and they were going to have to choose a path if they didn't want to be crushed.

Regardless of everyone else's protests, Byron went down the left path and seeing this, Link went down the center. At first the others didn't know what to do, but when Princess Zelda chose to follow Link, they made that decision too. Eliot may have worried for his brother, but he figured they would meet up later and he would be over his stubbornness by that point.

Behind them the walls had completely closed off the room and while Byron was by himself, the rest of the group had obviously stayed together.

Link hadn't cared much for Byron anyways. Well, at least not in his current state of anger. Before, Byron hadn't made his dislike for Link quite as clear as some of the others so in a way, what he did had come relatively as a surprise. _If anyone needs to grow up, _Link thought, _it would be him. _It said a lot though that everyone had chosen to follow him…even if that decision was based on the princess…or the fact that he was the one most capable of defending them should trouble arise. Link just hoped they would be able to find a way out should they have need for it.

"Kit…ty!" There it was again, only this time it was a bit more distinct.

A gloomy silence hung over the group as they proceeded by the light offered from their lanterns. Hopefully the lanterns would last out…

The walls were just bare stone covered in a thick layer of dust; there wasn't really much to hold a person's interest. From this hallway, they were forced to make more choices as they went down many more hallways that split away from it. It seemed to be a maze as they came upon several dead ends. Link simply turned around when reaching these and picked a different path. No matter what path he chose though, he always chose it based on where he thought the mysterious voice was coming from. By this point, he was sure the others had been able to hear it as well.

It was actually kind of creepy, seeing as how no one was supposed to be down there…

Suddenly there was that familiar click, and Link instinctively ducked down. It was a good thing he did this too because an arrow zoomed by right where his head had been just a moment before. "Get down!" he yelled as he heard more arrows rip through the air.

Seeing as how it would be bad if the princess of Hyrule came to any harm, Link leaned over her and served as a shield while the arrows flew overhead.

"Any bright ideas?" Ami asked as she too ducked down.

Openings were forming in the walls and from these the arrows flew. For the time being they were high enough where they could duck out of harms way, but Link had a feeling that it was only a matter of time before arrows started shooting out where they were. Link turned a corner, while still holding on to Zelda, and much to his relief he spotted a door glowing in the light sent off from his lantern. He signaled to the others to continue following him and they each nodded in turn. …If the king knew his daughter was going through this kind of danger, Link was sure he would have never let her come.

He swiftly made his way along with Zelda in tow and after a moment's struggle, pried the door open. Light flooded out from behind the door and Link was nearly blinded at first. After all, his eyesight had just recently been accustomed to the dim light the lantern's provided. He hurried through the door and then dragged Dr. Shivens, Ami, and Eliot into the room and slammed the door shut.

"Thanks…" Zelda whispered, but then stood and walked a short distance away.

"Phew, I don't know how my old bones made it through all that crawling," Dr. Shivens said with a sigh as he struggled to his feet as well.

Link looked around in a baffled manner. All around them was lit up…yet there was no source of where the light was coming from in sight. And why would this part of the temple be lit up like this but not the rest?

From around the corner a boy suddenly emerged, "Kit—Whoa, you're not Kitty."

"I should think not," Ami replied with a huff. "How in the world did you get down here?"

The boy appeared to be about Link and Zelda's age if not a year older; his wavy auburn hair fell over his hazel eyes and he brushed this back as he replied harshly, "Never mind that. You people need to leave."

"Excuse me?" Ami growled.

"Why should we?" Eliot asked.

"Because I said so, now get out of here!" he barked.

"Last time I checked, our exit was closed off," Link smartly stated; stepping closer to him and fingering the hilt of his sword. "Besides, what are you going to do if we don't?"

A little girl suddenly appeared from what seemed like thin air, "N-Nodin…what's going on?"

"Go tell the others that we have visitors," the boy said to her and she immediately ran off. "Listen, I don't want any trouble. Just please, all of you have to get out of here. Kiani will want me to kill you, but I can't do it. You have to go."

"Do you…live down here?" Dr. Shivens asked in fascination.

"It's none of your business," the boy, believed to be called Nodin, stated gruffly. "Leave, now."

Princess Zelda put on one of her sweetest smiles and glided up to him. "Would you kindly be willing to explain why it is so important that we leave?"

"No, I can't. Now get out of here! The entrance should have reopened by now…just go!" Nodin demanded with an exasperated look in his eyes; having turned the princess' charms into a failed attempt.

"Whether you like it or not, we are going to continue our search," Dr. Shivens snapped. "Now if you'll excuse us…"

Nodin pierced through him with a sharp glare, "I don't think so."

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Yeah yeah, I know those are pretty common traps usually laid in creepy temples…but meh, lol. I had some fun with this chapter, although I'm not all that enthusiastic about it. Thank you reviewers, and don't forget to check out replies on my blog thing.

-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own The Legend of Zelda. Although I think it's pretty obvious that the OCs and whatever other made up stuff in this fic are mine…


	4. One Down

**Chapter 4  
****One Down**

There had indeed been a prison break, and Bernard and Leon now stood out in Hyrule Field after having fled there in fear of pursuit. "We need to find some place to hide…some place they won't expect," Leon stated matter-of-factly.

"We? There's no longer any we. You go and find your own place to hide and I'll find mine," Bernard snapped and walked off.

"Wait, anywhere we--you or I go, there'll be people lookin' for us…but I know the perfect place where the both of us can hide."

Bernard stopped. "And just _where_ would that be?"

"You know that temple place they found out here?" Leon began with a broad smirk. "No one would expect us to hide there."

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Link swiftly drew his sword and dropped into a highly favored battle stance of his. "Give us the reason why and maybe we'll think about it."

"You can't be here, is that a good enough reason for you?" Nodin questioned.

"Nope, so I guess that means we stay."

Three other people abruptly came up and joined Nodin's side. Two of them were teenagers while the third was the little girl they had been seen earlier.

"What in the world?" Eliot said. "How many more of you are there?"

"I don't want to fight," Nodin said; ignoring Eliot's question.

"Well then I suggest you leave us alone and allow us to continue our search," Link replied.

"Just because my friend here doesn't want to fight doesn't mean I don't," the other teenage boy that had joined him spoke menacingly. With him being dressed in all black over his lean, yet muscular, form almost made him intimidating…but Link wasn't intimidated that easily. He assumed he was the Kiani spoken of before.

"There's no need for violence, they didn't choose the right path," the little girl argued in an attempt to calm Kiani down, who she did seem to bare a strong resemblance to.

"Then what are you suggesting we do, Kitty?" the teenage girl asked.

"Well Fay, there should be no harm in letting them roam around a bit more. If they die in one of our traps then their blood won't be on our hands," the little girl, now known as the 'mysterious' Kitty, explained.

"Kitty has a point," Nodin backed her, "but we'll need someone to keep an eye on them."

"You can say that easily enough because you're not the one who's gonna have to monitor them…" Kiani growled.

"Um…don't you think it's a bit awkward to be discussing about us…when we're right here?" Ami asked; eyeing them oddly.

"No one said you had to listen," Fay said rolling her green eyes.

"You can either watch them or we'll send Kitty," Nodin declared.

"Fine, I'll do it…" Kiani muttered.

"All right, you people are free to roam about. If you get killed, well…that's your problem and not ours. If you reach a certain point where you are told to turn back, you _have to_ pick a different route on which to go by," Nodin told them. "But one last question…there isn't anyone else who came in here with you is there?"

"There is a guy, Byron, who came with us, but he chose the path to the left and went by himself," Link replied.

Kiani smiled grimly, "Then he's as good as dead."

"What? But that's my brother!" Eliot exclaimed.

"Well then, I'm sorry for your loss," Kiani snapped. "Now I suggest you all get a move on before we change our minds."

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Byron's anger didn't last long before melting into fear of an imminent doom. What had he done? Now he was by himself with more traps that could be lying in wait anywhere…He was a fool, and he silently admitted this fact to himself…a fool who could do nothing but continue on and hope for the best.

And continue on he did, down a narrow pathway that stretched out before him with no turns or alternate pathways in sight. Well, at least none that he could see with the dim light his lantern offered.

Byron's fear really made him start thinking through his earlier actions. None of the researchers had taken a liking to Link from the start, and that included him. Some had been clearer about it than others, but he had certainly tried to be nice. They had simply taken the boy to be an idiot and not right in the head with the way he was dressed in that ridiculous attire. Their only toleration of him had come because of the princess.

It was weird with her…Sometimes she had spoken of Link with such fondness…but other times she had spoken of him with pure spite. No matter what she had said though, she had declared him to be an amazing fighter. Byron didn't know exactly why they had even let the princess come along in the first place…it had been Dr. Shivens who made the arrangements.

The boy wasn't the idiot though, the idiot was him. Byron shuddered as a cold chill swept over him in that desolate place. Suddenly, he ran into a wall that had popped up before him. He turned around to go back and see if he missed anything when he discovered another wall had formed behind him. In fact, he was now surrounded by walls on all sides.

His heart raced with this frightening turn of events…and then he only had time to emit one final resounding scream before thick and dangerously sharp spikes shot out from all directions and impaled him.

Kiani had been right.

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Before the temple entrance is where Bernard and Leon had ended up. The door had been left ajar and they had no light between the two.

"Er…it looks a little dark, don't you think?" Bernard said gaping at what appeared, in his opinion at least, to be a great black abyss waiting to engulf them.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark!" Leon scolded in a mocking way.

"N-no," Bernard stammered, but he didn't move when Leon attempted to pass him to get in. Bernard was by no means a small man and Leon was unable to get by.

There was a sudden sound from behind them and Leon used this to his advantage and gave Bernard a hard shove that sent him toppling into the temple. Leon quickly followed and managed to slam the door shut behind them…immediately catapulting them into a world full of darkness.

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A scream had been heard…a scream that belonged to Byron; they were sure of it.

"Welp, now it seems as though your friend is officially dead," Kiani stated in a bored tone.

Eliot was stunned and stood there unmoving. The others had to push him along as they walked past the four that had opposed them.

They turned off from that main corridor and once it was felt that they were out of hearing range, Dr. Shivens said to the group, "I think they're hiding something…"

"Like treasure?" Ami asked.

"Exactly," Dr. Shivens replied. "And we're going to find it."

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That chapter seemed to be a bit on the short as well as…not good…side, buuuut…it was very necessary…and I just thought that was the perfect place to cut it off at. I'd like to give a big thank you to those who have reviewed thus far. Replies are up for the last chapter so make sure you check that out.

-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I don't own The Legend of Zelda.


	5. Splitting Up

**Chapter 5  
****Splitting Up**

"I suggest that you get moving, Kiani," Fay told him.

"Yeah yeah, I'm goin'…don't worry," he replied with a sigh. Kiani suddenly disappeared and in his place was a shadow that matched his lean frame.

"Let's hope that we're not makin' a mistake by letting them stay," Nodin said.

The shadow nodded and then moved off swiftly, slipping silently along the walls.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"We'll split up, that's what we'll do." Dr. Shivens had begun to rant about possible things they could do to find this supposed treasure. "But then if there are five of us it wouldn't divide out evenly…and the princess would have to go with the boy and…" He obviously didn't have any care for the loss of Byron.

Link could see the depressed look in Eliot's eyes as he trudged along. The guy was torn apart and as much as Link hadn't really liked either of the two, he felt somehow responsible for what happened…as well as compelled to give Eliot some condolence.

"Sorry about your brother," Link told him with Dr. Shivens voice droning on in the background. Sure what he had said wasn't much, but at least it was something…right?

Just leave me alone!" Eliot spat without making eye contact. "I don't need _your_ sympathy of all people."

Link got the feeling that Eliot blamed him for it…or he blamed himself, but if that was how he was going to be then Link wasn't going to worry. It was no wonder why no one had said anything to him…

"Wait, didn't they say something about having someone watch us?" Zelda suddenly interrupted Dr. Shivens.

"Hey…I think she's right," Ami agreed. "If that's the case, then that would just be all the more reason to split up."

"You've got a point there," Dr. Shivens said. "I say we should split up into two groups. I will go with Princess Zelda and the boy, and you and Eliot can make up the other group."

_That's not fair…she gets named and I get referred to as boy… _Link thought with a hint of annoyance.

"Scared are we?" Ami asked. "After all, why would you pair yourself up with the 'superb' fighter?" The way she said superb made Link think that she didn't see him as really being capable of much…

"There's nothing to the issue that regards fear. I am older and therefore not as strong as I once was. You two are still young and I'm sure you can handle any new challenges that would arise…better than I could at least."

"Ok, whatever. Come on Eliot," Ami said as she grabbed his arm and abruptly dragged him down a separate path. "We'll all meet up with you eventually I'm sure."

"Well then, let's go," Zelda said taking off.

"Don't you think I should lead?" Link asked after having stopped her by grabbing her shoulder.

"Oh fine, but hurry up…and keep your hands to yourself," Zelda snapped. Dr. Shivens laughed at this display as Link jerked his hand away and stomped off in front.

The temple never seemed to change; forever remaining just plain stone walls with numerous twists and turns. Although, it was much pleasanter traveling by way of the unknown light source than the dim lights of the lanterns…which they had taken just a brief amount of time to put out.

"Dangit…" Kiani muttered after seeing that they had split up. He shot off back to where he had come from. "Kitty, it turns out you are going to have to come along…they've split up." He still remained in the shadow form he had somehow taken.

Kitty bit her lip, "O…ok."

Kiani knelt down to her level, "You'll do just fine. If anything happens, just give me a call and I'll be there in a flash…all right?"

She nodded and then disappeared. Kiani then sped off.

These antics of theirs only made them seem all the more stranger…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

For Link's group, things continued to pass by quite uneventfully. That is until they stumbled upon what appeared to be a bedroom. Four beds were aligned against the wall and there was a table with four chairs around it in the far corner.

"You don't think they…live here do you?" Link asked.

"There's no way," Dr. Shivens replied. "Not if those are the only four…This place was just recently discovered."

"Well, I say we eat seeing as how there's a table," Zelda said. "Unlike some people, I prefer to dine in a civilized manner." This last statement had been directed at Link.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The two criminals bumbled their way through the enveloping darkness, following the other's voice to keep track of their whereabouts. Unknowingly they made their way down the path to the right.

"Can we not just stay in one place and wait the time out?" Bernard whined. "This seems to be just too much of a hassle…"

"Feel free to stay right where you are cuz I'm gonna keep goin'. You'll be left there alone of course…" Leon told him knowing Bernard was too fearful of this place to want to be by himself.

"Er, that's ok…I think I'll just stick with you," Bernard hurriedly replied, just as Leon had expected him to.

"Well then, it's good to see that you've come to your senses. No complainin' from here on out," Leon ordered. In this place, he was the one in charge and he knew it. Well, at least while Bernard was cowering in fear of the dark…It was quite pitiful really.

Bernard continued along even though he was shaking profusely. Suddenly there was a click. "W-what was that?" he stammered.

"Don't be so paranoid," Leon chided him whilst rolling his eyes even if this action was to be unseen. However, directly following these words their dark world exploded with light.

The two were momentarily blinded and almost stumbled right into the wall of lethal spikes waiting for them. Luckily enough, they ended up falling backward instead of forward.

Leon was the first to get back on his feet. "Hmph, well that's not a very good trap."

"Look behind us…" Bernard said; his voice registered as barely above a whisper.

Leon did so and was astonished to see a wall of spikes rapidly moving towards them. Each sharp point glinted menacingly in the light.

To their right was a small passageway that broke off from this one diagonally…they would have to squeeze through there pass the wall of spikes that was in front of them though…Leon did this quickly and easily since he wasn't very big in size and then signaled for Bernard to hurry up and follow.

Bernard dashed up to the passage's entrance way, but moaned softly when he saw it would only be by work of a pure miracle that he'd be able to fit through. "Come on Bernard, suck it in!" Leon screamed at him. "If you wanna live, then you gotta fit through here."

Bernard did his best to squeeze through the compact space and Leon grabbed hold of his arm and pulled. "Ow!" Bernard yelped when one of the spikes from the stationary wall poked him in the side.

Right at the last second with the combined efforts of Bernard and Leon, Bernard was able to get through before he would have met the same fate as Byron. They didn't stop to rest from that most recent event and instead, continued along silently.

Their part in what lay ahead was much bigger then they could have ever known…

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Kiani had chosen to stick with Link's group. He was the one with the sword and seemed the most capable of causing problems, and he didn't want his little sister to become caught up a bad situation. Right now however, he was quite angry. Who did these people think they were to be using their table!

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing?" Kiani spat, morphing back into his human form.

This startled the three and they all jumped.

"How is that possible--…" Dr. Shivens began, but Kiani cut him off.

"It's dangerous enough as it is letting you people roam around in here and then you go and split up! And just look at what you're doing now!"

"Would you care to explain why it is so dangerous? It doesn't seem to be all the traps that you people are so concerned about," Link pointed out.

"Because…there's something here, something very dangerous."

"And you're not willing to go into detail?"

"Listen, I don't know what it's like up there on the surface anymore or even how long it's been since I last saw real sunlight, but you just have to trust me on this. By just being down here, you're standing a chance of releasing it…and once that is done, there isn't much hope. I don't think we'd be able to pull off what we did back then again…In fact, I don't know why we let you stay…"

"And just what is this it you refer to?" Zelda asked curiously.

"You don't want to know," was the simple reply.

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I'll admit, it has been sort of a slow start to this whole shebang…but ya never know what the futures gonna bring. : ) Thank you reviewers and be sure to check out the replies.  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: Don't ask me why I do one of these things every chapter even though I'm sure one is enough…I just do and that's all there is to it, lol. I do not own The Legend of Zelda. …Technically all the made up stuff in this fic is mine though…joy.


	6. The Thieves' Role

**Chapter 6  
****The Thieves' Role**

Through pure dumb luck, Bernard and Leon were able to make it farther into the temple. …Then again, maybe it was because some of the traps had become defective in their old age?

Whatever the case, the two were bone weary and eager to see the light of day again…even if it meant being thrown back into prison. The light they had here only seemed to add more to their misery as it continued to illuminate the never ending twists of bare stone hallways.

"Come to me…" a voice hissed out of nowhere.

"Did you say somethin'?" Bernard asked.

"No, you sure you ain't just hearin' things?" Leon returned.

"Once you reach the fork up ahead, take the path to the right," that same voice said. This time, Leon had heard it too… "If you do as I say, you both will become very rich men." The voice was just a sibilant hiss, haunting and genderless in its tone, but its words were unmistakable.

Leon's eyes widened at this proposition, "Whoa! Ya hear that Bernard? We could get rich just by following the directions of whoever this guy is!"

"But we can't even see 'im…how do we know to trust this person? All of your schemes usually lead to trouble," Bernard pointed out pessimistically.

The two had reached the fork spoken of and they had a decision to make on which path they should take. "To the right!" the voice hissed, urging them onwards.

Leon headed off in that direction, but Bernard immediately stopped him. "You don't know for a fact that the path you are choosing is a good choice. How can you be so careless with a decision that could amount to horrible things?"

"Well, we've gotta pick one of these paths…unless you happen to know the way back," Leon replied.

"Wait a sec…why have we even been walking through this place? I thought we were just going to hide here for a bit…" A strange look crossed Bernard's brown eyes as he slipped into a thoughtful mood, and then when a certain realization struck him, he abruptly fixed Leon with a frosty glare. "You just wanted to come search this place for treasure!" He had certainly hit the nail on the head with this accusation.

Leon flashed him a roguish grin despite how angry he knew Bernard had surely become with him. "Well, that's quite a surprise. You actually figured it out."

"I can't believe I allowed you to drag me back into another one of your get-rich-quick-schemes! I could have died several times and it was all because of you and your greed."

Bernard looked as though he was about ready to tear something apart and Leon spoke quickly in an effort to calm his companion, "But you are not dead. Those little challenges back there will surely make you stronger in the long run of experience, and now that we've made it this far…wouldn't it make more sense if we were to keep going?"

Bernard heaved a deep sigh, "Seeing as how there may be no going back the way we came…I will still go along with you. But under condition…I get more of the treasure than you do."

Leon instantly agreed with out any note of hesitation, in a way it was quite suspicious…but Bernard never caught on to this little fact. If there was a vast treasure or fortune that would make the two of them rich, he would have Bernard help him get the goods out of here and then kill him…Without Bernard, it would all be his.

"Stop your pathetic bickering and GO!" the mysterious voice snapped impatiently.

The two men jumped and practically set off racing each other to get down the right path as quickly as possible…Their grim fate would be set if they were to carry out all the kinks to this unwise decision.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Eliot and Ami had found their way down so many different pathways, and were not even sparing a thought to think of how they would get back. They were about to take yet another turn when Kitty's voice abruptly brought them to a halt.

"Don't go that way, you're getting much too close to it," she stated, suddenly appearing in front of them.

"Close to what my dear?" Ami cooed sweetly, thinking it would be easy to pry information out of a mere child.

"None of your business; now take a different path," she told them totally unfazed by Ami's manner.

"And what if we don't?"

"Then Kiani will be here in a heartbeat and he will deal with you two easily enough."

"Hmm…I suppose that could be a plausible reason, but first I'd like to ask you a question."

"And that is?"

"Is there anything of historical value in this goddess forsaken place that would interest my fellow scholars and me?"

"This place is only a giant maze of endless stone walls and traps. You are wasting your time here if that is all you wish for."

"Then what are you people trying so hard to protect?"

"It's not of your business," Kitty told her again. Her curly blonde hair bounced on her delicate shoulders as she began to pace about in agitation. "Now pick a different path or leave. I'd be more then happy to show you your way to an exit."

Ami smirked and took off down the path Kitty had warned her not to go down, and dragged the somber Eliot with her.

"Why can't you people listen to a simple command?" Kitty asked, once again appearing in front of them.

"How old are you little girl?" Ami asked in an offhanded response.

"Your mind would understand me to be ten years old though I am much, much older than that."

"Listen punk, I don't know how you or your little friends got down here, but I don't see any reason for us to take orders from an annoying pest like you!" Eliot suddenly barked; breaking his solemn silence in a bout of rage.

Kitty was on the verge of tears, she didn't know how she was going to get these rude people to listen to her…so she did what she had been told to do should the important situation arise. "Kiani…" She whispered his name softly even though he was probably too far from her. But then again, maybe not…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm coming Kitty!" Kiani suddenly exclaimed, surprising Link, Zelda, and Dr. Shivens as he took off running right out the room.

"We've gotta follow him!" Link abruptly declared; jumping up and dashing out after him. Zelda and the professed doctor tried to keep up with him as they too gave chase on Link's command.

By the time they got out to the hallway, Link was just standing there and Kiani was gone. Nodin however, had shown up along with the other member of their group of four, Fay.

"Your people apparently couldn't follow a simple rule. Now you all have to leave," Fay told them, flicking back her shoulder-length black hair. "We'll show you to the exit once those other two are rounded up."

"Why can't you just kick them out and allow us to continue?" Link asked her.

"That's a preposterous suggestion! I will not hear of my colleagues being left out of this expedition," Dr. Shivens exclaimed.

"Yet you seemed pretty ok with one of them dying," Link stated coldly.

Dr. Shivens didn't respond to this.

Zelda suddenly took off, startling everyone present as she darted away. "Zelda!" Link called going after her.

"What is she doing?" Nodin asked enraged as he too joined in on the chase.

"That's just ridiculous," Fay said. "And to think, I bet the only reason you haven't run off too is because you don't have that kind of physical endurance."

"That's quite rude of you to point out," Dr. Shivens said bitterly.

"Follow me; Nodin will catch those two…All of you have caused too much trouble."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Leon's arm was bleeding profusely from an axe blade that had swung down and clipped his arm. Bernard wasn't in much of a better condition. As they had traversed along under the mysterious voices' instructions, more and more traps had befallen upon them and each one more deadly than the last. You'd think they'd get the hint not to go that way.

"Just around the next corner you will find it…" their supposed benefactor told them.

They rounded the corner just as they had been told and flames suddenly shot out of the wall at them. Leon managed to get away unharmed, but Bernard suffered several burns before he too was able to get away. "I don't think we should listen any more. This guy has led us to nothin' but trouble so far," Bernard said followed by several mutterings of pain as the burns took their toll.

"No, it's because of that we've come this far that we must continue. Think how much our efforts will be worth once we get rich!" Leon said with a large grin despite the pain he had to endure through as well.

"If…if you say so…" Bernard said with a sigh.

The fire eventually came to an abrupt stop and they ventured to take a peep around the corner. There was no sign of where the flames had come from, but there was a giant door. It was bedecked in sparkling jewels of many different kinds, and Leon's eyes immediately lit up. "Look at that, Bernard!"

Bernard's mouth fell agape as he beheld the wondrous sight.

"There's more inside if you will come and get it," the voice told them in an alluring manner. "The key to this door is hidden within the wall. Feel along the wall on the left to find the switch to get it."

They set to it with a will and Bernard was the one to find the switch. A stone slid away in the wall and in its place rested a box. "Go on, get it!" Leon urged him.

Bernard reached his hand into the wall to retrieve the box without putting much thought into the fact that there were traps all over the temple. The next thing he knew when he grabbed the box, was even more pain. He managed to get the box out, but dropped it on the floor and spilled its single content, a lone key, out onto the floor as he stared at his fingers in shock.

Three of the fingers on his right hand had been cut to the bone. By what, he did not know…but blood flowed from the freshly inflicted wounds. Leon didn't spare a thought of sympathy for Bernard's predicament and snatched up the key. Unlike the door, it was just an ordinary brass key. He fit it into the key slot and there was a deep rumbling sound as the door slowly slid open.

"Get inside quickly!" the voice demanded them. Leon did so hurriedly and Bernard did so too, all the while trying to bandage up his fingers with a piece of cloth he had torn from his shirt. The prospect of riches being so near had made him forget his agitation with Leon for the time being.

The door that had opened so slowly suddenly slammed shut behind them and instead of a room filled with treasure, it was a room just as bare and empty as the rest of the temple had been. There was no apparent route of escape.

"Now where to?" Leon called out.

No response.

Bernard cursed loudly. "We've been tricked! I knew we shouldn't have been so trusting!" he screamed at Leon. "And it's all because of you. Once again you've gotten us into trouble. …And if we die here…it'll be your fault!"

"Now now, calm down…" Leon said shakily. He had taken the key out of the lock and into the room with them. He now searched the door frantically for another keyhole to get them out of here, but the door was only a slab of smooth stone with nothing on it unlike the outside of it had been. He turned to face Bernard shakily, "I-I'm sure we'll get out of here…somehow."

"Somehow? That's your bright idea? Somehow we'll get out of here?" Bernard exploded.

Leon's eyes widened again, only this time in fear. "B-B-B-B-Bernard…look b-behind…y-y-y-y-you…" he stuttered.

"Not 'til I'm through with you," Bernard snapped.

"N-n-n-n-no, B-Bernard…there's something b-b-b-b-b-b-behind y-y-y-you!"

"I'm tired of all your crap, Leon. In fact, I wish I had never met you. You're a disgrace for a brother and I hate you. You hear that, I hate--…" Bernard never finished his last statement…seeing as how a large set of jaws came down over his head.

Leon screamed an almost girly scream and fell to his knees as Bernard's head was viciously ripped from his body by a creature that blended in too well with the shadows on the ceiling to be able to make out. Blood spewed everywhere and then Leon screamed again when the unrecognizable creature sprang upon him.

The thieves…were no more.

"Yesss…Now that I have fed…I will be able to escape from this prison those little wretches kept me in for so long," the voice Leon had put so much trust into gave another hiss as the creature went about devouring their grisly remains.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reviewer replies are posted for the last chapter, so don't forget about those.

That ended up bein' longer then what I intended…and it all came to me so easily once I got it goin' too… o.O Oh well, that's more of the OCs that I was able to kill off. I don't have much longer 'til I get outta school for summer vacation! I'm so happy and I'm gonna see _X-Men 3_ the day it comes out in theaters and I'm excited about that too. :D

-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own The Legend of Zelda.


	7. Serapis

**Chapter 7  
****Serapis**

They had felt the rumbling, yet they had not heard the last screams Leon and Bernard would ever make.

Link had no problem catching Zelda, but she nailed him with a bony elbow right in his stomach nearly causing him to lose his grip. "And just where do you think you're going?" he gritted out.

"Get your hands off me!" she retorted.

"I'm simply doing what I was hired to do. Promise me you won't run and I'll let you go."

"Fine, I promise…now keep your end of the deal!"

"That's real princess-like," Link said with a smirk as he relinquished his hold on her.

Nodin abruptly came running up. "W-what did your people…They better not have…How could they have gotten past…" he fumbled to form complete sentences yet failed miserably; a frantic look sparkled in his eyes.

"What?" Link asked in confusion.

"Come on, we've got to find Kiani and Kitty!" Nodin said urgently as Fay and Dr. Shivens finally caught up.

"Think you can get us there?" Fay asked him.

"No, we'll have to go it the hard way," Nodin glumly told her.

"…Feel free to lead the way anytime now…" Link said slowly. It was evident he wasn't the only one left in a baffled state. Everyone else, excluding Nodin and Fay of course, had not been able to figure out what exactly was going on and what the big deal was.

"You're right, come on!" Nodin replied.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kiani's dark eyes narrowed when he heard the rumbling. Apparently someone had lied about there not being more people brought into this place…That could be the only possibility.

He did meet up with Kitty, but when the rumbling had occurred he had darted right on by her towards the prison chamber. He just _had_ to keep the creature from making its escape…Even though he had not seen the surface in years, the land above would be doomed if he didn't.

When he arrived at the jeweled door though, he found it sitting there wide open. From where he stood, he could see a pool of blood shimmering in the magic-produced light of the empty room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What is going on?" Ami asked when Nodin and company joined them.

"They haven't explained anything to us either…" Link muttered in reply.

"Where's Kiani at?" Fay questioned worriedly.

"He went on ahead…He had me wait for you guys…" Kitty softly clarified.

"Then we've got to go after him," Nodin said.

"You won't be going any where…" a sibilant voice hissed. Fay instantly held out her hand and a golden colored sword appeared in its grasp.

Link looked around to see who had spoken, but found no one. Well, not until a creature of significant size dropped down right in front of him that is. It was with more awe than fear that he studied this creature.

Its massive head was like that of a humanoid cobra, its black scales glimmered in the light around its hypnotic yellow eyes, and deadly fangs jutted out from its upper jaw. Its body resembled a _very _muscular human, though it was covered in more of the coarse black scales. Its hands and feet were big and disproportionate to the rest of its body as they extended into the long, curved fingers and toes, each with a dangerously sharp claw attached.

"W-what is th-that…thing?" Dr. Shivens asked; his body language giving away his immense fear.

"My vengeance shall be complete this day…" it growled in its snake-like voice.

Kitty was visibly shaken, but she stood her ground. "We've brought you down before and we can do it again! We've shown that we can beat you, Serapis. If I were you, I wouldn't even try anything."

"Aw yes, you just keep telling yourself that when I'm sinking my teeth into your flesh."

Link drew his sword and joined Fay in a battle stance. Nodin and Kitty stepped up beside them as well.

"Is this strange boy in green a replacement for Kiani?" the creature, now known as Serapis, asked with a hoarse laugh as though it found humor in the situation. It struck out with a well-muscled arm at Link, but Link was too quick on his feet for him and was able to avoid the blow.

"Actually, I'm right behind you," Kiani's voice abruptly resounded out, coming from behind the monstrosity that was Serapis.

"Get him when he turns his back to us…" Fay whispered to Link.

Serapis immediately whirled around upon hearing Kiani's voice, just as Fay had known he would do and she went on the attack and drove her weapon into Serapis' back. Sparks scattered everywhere as the sword struck the hard scales, but it did not pierce through. She froze with a look of astonishment, as if this had never happened before. Kiani dove pass Serapis and joined them on the other side. Serapis turned as well, laughing.

"I've had plenty of time to improve, even being imprisoned as I was," he said with what looked to be a grin on his strange face; not an ounce of pain was evident in his voice…Fay's attack had not hurt him in the least bit. It seemed more like it had humored him. "In fact, I can show you what else I can do…"

Princess Zelda surprised them all by stepping right in front of it, "Why don't you just go back to the hell hole you came from?"

"Dang…" Link said with a laugh despite the dire situation, as he yanked her back before Serapis could get her.

"I will do no such thing!" he roared and a ball of pulsating energy abruptly appeared above his head before slamming into the ceiling above them.

There was a booming explosion and chunks of stone began falling down. Serapis charged through this and swung his claws in a wide arc, severing the head of Eliot who was the unfortunate one that had been unable to duck in time. Ami let out a scream and then turned heels and ran in the opposite direction.

Link cast Eliot's lifeless corpse a sad glance, but he didn't have time to be concerned when Serapis was preparing to repeat the attack. Serapis' claws went flying at Zelda, but Link was able to deflect them by catching them on his sword.

The hallway wasn't all that wide, and Link knew they needed to get out of there and come up with a strategic plan to take down this creature. Maybe Ami's idea wasn't such a bad one after all…

Link signaled to Shivens after sheathing his sword and then dragged Zelda with him in the direction Ami had gone. Dr. Shivens followed right behind him. Those other people could deal with Serapis…he had been hired to protect the princess and that was what he was going to do. Projecting one last look backwards, he was taken aback to see a large slab of stone fall downwards, separating Serapis from the annoying four.

"We've got to regroup and make plans!" Nodin was heard yelling. "Teleport us out of here Kitty, now!" And in a flash…they were gone.

Link heard an exceptionally loud crash, but kept on going. "Th-that thing…is coming after us!" Dr. Shivens suddenly exclaimed. Link merely picked up the pace, picked Zelda up into his arms, and hoped that Dr. Shivens would be able to keep up. He had caught up to Ami by this point and she persisted to run alongside him.

They narrowly avoided having their heads cleaved off when a lethally sharp blade shot out of the wall at neck level. Luckily enough for them, Link had excellent reflexes and had knocked them over as he ducked under it.

Ami's eyes were wide in shock at the close call and Dr. Shivens didn't utter a sound. They continued onward with Serapis' heavy footsteps driving them on. Link chose to take several different turns off that main path they were on with the hopes of losing their pursuer…it didn't work.

Serapis was getting closer and closer by the second, and despite Link's plan, he felt they were doomed to be caught should circumstances remain the same. Zelda didn't struggle in his arms and instead, she had her head buried in his chest and hands clinging to him in a death grip. He didn't know why he had picked her up…it had just…felt like the right thing to do. He certainly hoped that 'right' thing was based upon a sense of duty to do his job…not unbridled emotions that should have diminished a long time ago.

A blast of energy struck a wall in front of him and suddenly, there was no where left to run. Before them was a pile of continuously falling rubble from the blast, and Link knew Serapis now stood behind them waiting. If he had to…he would fight.

"W-what are we going to…do?" Dr. Shivens asked, already having turned to face the predator that hunted them.

Link set Zelda down on her feet and drew his sword from its sheath. "I will do what I can, all y'all are gonna have to get past him while I serve as a diversion."

There was no protest to this but if one had looked closely, they might have seen the worry that flashed across Zelda's sapphire blue eyes before it was replaced with the justifiable fear they all felt.

Link never had a chance to put this plan that was sure to end against his favor because Kitty abruptly appeared as Serapis broke into a charge, and in a flash, the hallway and the creature were no longer to be seen in their line of vision…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yes! I finally finished this not-so-good-yet-very-hard-to-write-chapter. I got a new video game and I like it so far. Props to Jupiter-Lightning for helping me name my evil creature dude! I think she said Serapis is of Egyptian origin meaning something to deal with a dead bull…nice huh? Well, I just like the name regardless of meaning so meh…lol.

Dissections are nasty…whether it's a worm or a frog, it's just plain nasty. Thank goodness for people willing to do that stuff while I do the paperwork involved, lol.

Anyways, don't forget to check out reviewer replies.  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I don't own The Legend of Zelda… Serapis, them guardian peeps, and whatever other junk I made up in this would be mine however. Yippee…


	8. Group Discussion

**Chapter 8  
****Group Discussion**

"Serapis wouldn't think to come back here, and he shouldn't know his way around the temple…" Nodin was saying. "So we should be ok for the time being."

They had arrived just in time to hear these words. Kitty had somehow been able to teleport them to the chamber Serapis had formerly been imprisoned in, and although Link did not know the significance of this room, he was too busy staring in a dumbfounded manner at Kitty as she joined the sides of her companions to think much of it.

"How were you able to do that?" Dr. Shivens asked, beating him to the question.

The initial shock and fear they had felt upon being cornered by Serapis had instantly faded now that they, as in Link, Zelda, Dr. Shivens, and Ami, had been brought to a relatively safe place. Well, Link had deemed it safe up until he spotted the small pool of blood taking residence in the center of the room…but he could wait for an explanation that he knew was sure to come. He noticed that the others in his group had seen it as well, though it was kind of hard to miss…

"Why would it be relevant for you to know how Kitty did that? She saved your life didn't she?" Kiani snapped in reply.

"He was only asking out of curiosity," Ami argued in Dr. Shivens defense. "Now how about you people get to showin' us to that exit that you were so eager to take us to earlier?"

"I don't think so," was the curt response she got.

"And just why is that?" Zelda queried.

"Based on what we've been led to believe, you all lied to us. If that is really the case, then the blood you see there is all that remains of your friend," Kiani said coldly. "This is the room where we held at bay the creature you saw out there."

"We did not lie to you about anything. There was no other we brought down here with us," Dr. Shivens told him. "But what good would we be staying down here? Besides the buffoon in green, none of us are gifted in the area of battle."

"That's just an excuse," Kitty stated with much more drive behind her words than what would be expected from her. "I did not have to save you, so you're obligated to help us."

"You're just a kid, what do you know?" Ami muttered agitatedly.

"My sister knows a heck of a lot more than you do," Kiani growled.

"Yeah, right," Ami rolled her eyes with this statement of sarcasm.

"Just how strong is this Serapis guy anyways?" Zelda inquired curiously.

"Let's just say…the surface world will be doomed should he reach there," Nodin said.

"Then I shall willingly offer you whatever help I can," Zelda stated.

"But princess, it's too risky!" Dr. Shivens berated her.

"Princess? What's a princess doing down here?" Kiani asked with a slight smirk.

"It doesn't matter," Link cut in. "But if we're going to be working together against that monster, which I say we should, why not start with something simple like introductions before moving onto the more complicated things?" Although Link had been able to piece together the names, he felt this would help ease the tension between the two groups.

"That is a good idea, maybe you should consider being nicer to the so called buffoon," Fay jibed at Dr. Shivens. "You may call me Fay by the way."

"Well Fay, you may call me Link," Link returned.

"I'm Nodin."

"Just call me Zelda, there's no need for any formalities."

"My name's Ami…"

"Hmph, well I'm Kiani and this is my little sister Kitty."

"All right, I guess I'm last to go. You all may refer to me as Dr. Shivens."

"Good. Now that that's done and over with, it's time to move on to a different subject," Link began calmly. "Just how long have you four been down here? You know too much information to have just momentarily dropped in."

"I don't know if this is entirely accurate, but I'd say at least a thousand years…" Nodin offered.

Ami's eyes bulged in disbelief, but Dr. Shivens seemed to believe this quite readily much to Link's surprise. "That makes sense. I assume there's something more to that…"

"The goddesses granted us the gift of eternal youth so we could continue keeping watch over Serapis' prison," Kitty explained.

"And as for those pow—" Link began.

Zelda seemed to have come up with something more important than Link's next question and butted in, "Seeing as how Serapis is supposed to be really powerful, shouldn't you have had this place designed so that you could sense the presence of others?"

Nodin looked as though he was about to reply, but hesitated a moment before actually speaking. "Well, that's how it was…You remember how I was so surprised to see you all the first time? I knew I should have sensed your presence long before, but I merely shrugged it off with the thought that it was just because we'd been isolated for so long…I don't think anyone else sensed you guys either…But the fact that someone else apparently got past us and released Serapis makes me think that he had something to do with all this. It's almost as if he surpassed the limiting factors of his prison to meddle in things and allow his escape."

Kiani nodded. "I bet you're right. I don't how Serapis could have pulled it off, but if that's what happened then it certainly makes sense."

"I say we stop with the chit-chat for now and go take the offense against Serapis before he comes to us. Knowing him, he definitely won't attempt to get out of the temple until we're dead, and he'll probably be off eating the other two dead bodies that are lyin' around somewhere…he shouldn't be too hard to find," Fay stated smartly.

Ami paled when Fay mentioned those 'other two'…Though she hadn't shown much heartbreak over their actual deaths, it seemed that the thought of them being eaten sickened her.

"I have a plan for those who supposedly can't fight," Kiani said suddenly with a devilish grin. "And it'll work perfectly with the fact that Serapis' stomach is like a bottomless pit."

"You're not going to feed us to that thing are you?" Ami exclaimed. "I will not stand for such…such…You traitors!"

"Relax. You're better off being used as bait than food anyways. Seeing as how you're so enthusiastic about it too, looks like you'll be the lucky one that gets to do it."

"Sounds good to me," Link said, despite the fact that Ami looked ready to faint. "Now what's the rest of the plan?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Serapis licked the lingering drops of blood from his lips and decided that live prey was definitely a better catch than that of the two dead Hylians he had dined on. He hated the four that had locked him away with a burning passion, and he knew that that would be the best meal of all should he have his vengeance upon them. The addition of those new people would do him justice in the meantime however.

He knew that his rivals knew he wouldn't leave this forsaken place until he had completed his revenge, and he figured it was all for the better. He also knew they wouldn't try to make any sort of escape until he was taken care of either. It was all just one predictable cycle…

"I'm just going to remain calm…very calm…They said they had a plan, and they'll follow it…" This statement was followed by a sigh. "Sometimes I wish I had more faith in people…"

Serapis grinned upon hearing the voice of a woman speaking, and it seemed to come from just around the corner too. Well, it was certainly convenient to have the live prey he had been longing for show up like that, but he paused a moment as a certain thought crossed his mind. It was almost a little too convenient…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Link didn't quite understand the technicalities behind how he had gotten on the ceiling, but it had something to do with some weird ability of Kitty's…along with the fact that she was the one to teleport them around to where they needed to be so they could get set up quickly…His being on the ceiling was to keep an eye on Ami while in an unnoticeable position. It was all part of a plan that hadn't taken long to devise…

He became fully alert when the distinguishable sound of heavy footsteps was heard nearing the passage Ami paced around in. Suddenly the footsteps stopped and from around the corner came someone…who was not Serapis. Link almost thought he was going to fall from his position because of pure shock despite the magic that held him up. It was one of those thieves he had helped lock away…It looked like Leon, though he wasn't sure; he had only seen the names on a wanted poster somewhere with quick sketches of them.

"Whoa, and just who are you?" Ami asked with a start, her surprise evident.

The plan had been for Link to jump down when Serapis went after Ami, but now…he wasn't sure what he should do. He noticed a shadow slide across the wall behind who he had assumed to be Leon, and decided he would make his next move based on whatever Kiani decided to do.

He was certainly taken aback when instead of answering Ami, large claws shot out from Leon's hands and pierced right through her chest…and then he morphed into Serapis.

Link struggled to break through the magic barrier that held him up; he had been told it would break easily should he want to get down, but it was like it had been reinforced and he was stuck where he was. Serapis gave him an odd look and then merely hit Kiani away as he lifted a squirming Ami into the air on the tip of his claws, and she went head first into his voluminous mouth. Serapis didn't take long to completely get Ami down, and the whole ordeal was terrifyingly gruesome with the sickening crunch of her bones being smashed and the shower of blood that rained down.

The plan had gone haywire already…but why had Serapis' apparent shape shifting ability not been mentioned beforehand?

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_X-Men 3_ was an awesome movie even with some of the flaws I found, the book I read called _Sphere_ (by Michael Crichton) was awesome, and…I felt some stuff in this chapter might have happened a bit too fast...

Reviewer replies are up, so be sure to check those out.  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: The Legend of Zelda…definitely not mine.


	9. Skirmish

**Chapter 9  
****Skirmish**

The magic holding Link up suddenly dissipated and having been caught off guard by this, he fell to the ground. Pain ensued the fall and he had trouble rising to his feet because of the room's spinning in his perspective. Kiani stumbled about dizzily nearby and with the both of them in a state of stupor, the others needed to hurry and do something.

"That was a most appreciative snack; it's so nice of you to keep bringing me more." Serapis laughed in that snake-like way of his and moved towards them.

Serapis made a grab for them and following this, things happened so quickly that Link couldn't quite comprehend everything that went on. One moment he was trapped in a dizzy spell knelt before Serapis and in the next, he was somehow transferred to the farthest end of the corridor, well out of the humanoid serpent's reach.

He felt a cool breeze brush by him and looked up to see Nodin now standing before Serapis' monstrous figure. His vision had cleared up and the room was no longer spinning, so Link stood and drew his sword.

A small tornadic object appeared, seeming to have been spawned by Nodin himself, engulfing Serapis and startling Link in the process as he had stepped much closer to his target. Kiani brushed past Link and joined Nodin, and Fay was up there too along with Kitty. Well, he apparently needed to get a move on or else he'd miss all the action. Dr. Shivens and the princess were off somewhere safe so they wouldn't get in the way. It was probably for the better too, especially with the terrible fate that had befallen Ami…even with her having been the pain in the butt she was.

Serapis had no problem doing away with the irritating wind that danced around him. In a mere instant, it was gone.

Their plan was definitely a total failure, and basically things seemed to be cycling into what would become an all out fight.

Kiani threw some kind of shadow ball, Fay went in with her golden sword, Nodin unleashed a massive gust of wind in an effort to take away Serapis' balance, Kitty had disappeared but she was standing ready nearby should they need to make a hasty retreat, and Link performed a long ranged front flip right over them, latching onto Serapis' back upon his descent. Fortunately for him, the ceiling was just high enough for such a feat to be accomplished.

Serapis was forced back as the attacks nailed him in a brutal onslaught. Fay's sword found its way through the scales on his stomach, and Link's sword barely poked through the base of Serapis' neck before he was flung off. Serapis retaliated against the assault with unbridled ferocity that was nearly impossible to match, drawing blood from his enemies with every strike.

Having been flung in the manner he was, Link had struck the corridor's nearby wall and then fallen to the floor. Serapis had massive strength to back his sinewy muscles, so the blow had certainly been a devastating one…but Link wasn't about to let something like that stop him. He was soon right back up into the confusing melee, only to catch the slashing claws of Serapis as he swung behind him.

Large gashes opened and spilled blood down his front and Link stumbled a bit in pain, but charged forward anyway and went in with his sword.

"We should retreat for now, Serapis is too strong in this type of situation," Nodin told Kiani while holding a hand over the source of blood that flowed down his bleeding arm.

"You're right," Kiani said. "Things have gotten far too out of control. Fay, give him one last hard knock and then we're outta here!"

Fay nodded and her sword disappeared; she braced herself and then swung a curled fist. Fay was a girl who didn't appear to have much upper body strength but when her fist slammed into Serapis, it told a different story.

Serapis went careening backwards, and Link had to move quickly not to be crushed. "Let's go!" Fay yelled at him as Kitty appeared, ready to take them some place else. Nodin and Kiani were already waiting with her, and Fay joined them.

Link did not like the idea of leaving a battle, but he rationalized that there was nothing to gain at this point should he stay. He was about to dart on over there, but Serapis had gotten up and snatched him from behind. The air from Link's lungs was instantly lost and he gasped for breath as Serapis held him up before him. One mistake Serapis had made, was to forget Link still had a sword.

"Though a boy with no powers for me to take, you will still make for an excellent snack."

Thinking quickly, Link thrust his sword into the roof of Serapis' mouth as it clamped shut. Link struggled not to cry out in pain as the teeth sunk deep into his arm.

Link's sword had certainly taken its toll on Serapis. It had gone in at an angle and came out at the top of his head, after having sliced right through his brain.

Serapis fell to the ground, taking Link with him and the others were immediately at their side. Before they could act upon this moment however, he disappeared in a puff of black smoke…leaving Link to lie there with his arm barely attached, bloody sword in hand, and bruised ribs. He fought not to pass out from the barrage of pain, but was unable to and unconsciousness consumed him.

"Wow…" was all Nodin had to say.

"Do you think that will have finished Serapis off?" Kitty asked hopefully.

Kiani certainly didn't think so. "He'll be back…someway or another he'll recover, even after receiving that kind of brain damage."

"Well, we need to get Link some help here so he doesn't die from blood loss," Fay stated abruptly.

"Can do," Kitty said and teleported them out of there.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dr. Shivens and Zelda were astonished by the sight of Link upon their arrival to the bedroom they had moved to. Between the two of them, Nodin and Kiani were able to ease Link onto one of the beds.

"Aren't you a doctor?" Kitty asked Dr. Shivens.

He shook his head. "Not the kind of doctor this boy needs. In my field I earned that title."

Kitty shrugged. "Strange as that is, I guess we'll have to suffice with whatever other treatment options we have here…which may not do him a whole lot of good."

"He's proven himself to be a more valuable participant in this fight, so we need to get something done fast," Kiani said urgently.

Zelda knelt by the bedside, "I have minor skills in healing magic, but what I'm able to do should be enough."

She placed her hand on Link's and slowly, but noticeably, the wounds he had suffered were healing. "Since when could you…?" Dr. Shivens was certainly surprised upon this act of the princess'.

"It doesn't matter," she said once she had finished with Link. "The rest of you have small wounds I can take care of. Once I'm done with that, I would like sleep…this ability of mine drains a lot of energy."

She went to each person in turn and the action was carried out in silence. As soon as she finished, she plopped down onto one of the beds and was instantly asleep.

Link eventually woke up and the silence was finally broken. He stared at his arm in bewilderment and asked, "How…?" Though the wounds inflicted upon him had been healed, blood still remained all over his clothes and he looked quite disheveled.

"Princess Zelda…she did something…" Dr. Shivens said with the shock he felt evident in his voice. "She somehow…healed you."

"Oh…" Link smiled at her sleeping form, something he thought he'd never be doing again. "I suppose I'll have to thank her when she wakes up. For now there're some things I would like to discuss." The smile hadn't lasted very long, and now his expression was one of seriousness.

"First it would be nice if you all would brief me on what happened…and where's Ami?" Dr. Shivens had regained his calm composure quite quickly.

"The plan went wrong and Ami was eaten," Kiani stated bluntly, giving him the very brief explanation he had asked for. Dr. Shivens' eyes stared in a downcast manner at the ground.

"Did you know Serapis could shapeshift?" Link asked; this being the main thing that was bothering him.

"No, we did not know he had that skill," Nodin replied truthfully. "Though, there seems something odd about it. Didn't he say something when he grabbed you?"

Link had to think about it for a minute as it hadn't stuck in the forefront of his mind. "Yes…yes he did. It was…weird. He said something about my not having any powers for him to take."

Kiani gave Nodin a strange look as if he knew something about this, but he did not speak of it out loud. Instead he said, "Speaking of powers, I'm assuming you're curious about ours?"

Link nodded, "You're right, it would definitely be nice to know."

"Well, I can morph into shadow and convert it into an energy blast, Kitty is able to teleport, become invisible, and set up barriers; basically you could call it defense mechanisms, Fay here has super strength and is an expert with any weapon, and Nodin…he can summon and control the wind element."

"Very well then," Link said accepting all this, "we need to figure out what we're going to do about Serapis should he return."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lying sprawled out on the floor in another part of the temple was none other than Serapis. Slowly the massive wound he had received was closing up as he saved himself from what should have become a fatal injury.

Once the process was done, he sat up and spat out the blood that lingered in his mouth. What looked to be a triumphant smile adorned his features as he said, "They must have a healer among them…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I watched this movie called _Red Dragon_ and I liked it lots. : ) Anyways, reviewer replies have been posted and here's a big THANK YOU to y'all that have reviewed thus far.  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own The Legend of Zelda, but whatever else is mine.


	10. Power Leecher

**Chapter 10  
Power Leecher**

"For one, I vote that we get out there and kick his butt," Kitty volunteered.

Kiani smiled at her reasoning. "You've got a good suggestion there, but we need to have the plans made so we're able to do that."

"Y'all apparently defeated Serapis before, so what was your strategy back then?" Link asked.

"We lured him to Lake Hylia; he isn't exactly fond of water," Fay explained. "From there we teamed up against him and managed to take him down, though it was just barely so."

"Well, I doubt there are any vast amounts of water here that would accumulate for a lake, and I doubt he would fall for the same thing twice anyways," Link stated pessimistically.

"We've still got time to think of something. Surely Serapis will be hindered by the traps and don't forget that this place is just one big maze," Nodin said, countering Link's pessimism with a much more optimistic view on their situation.

However, Nodin's exposition proved to be wrong.

"Looks like your time is up," hissed the voice they had all come to dread. There in the doorframe stood Serapis.

They had all been taken totally by surprise by his unexpected dropping in so suddenly like this, and it was a disappointment and a major blow to them that their strategizing time had ended so abruptly seeing as how they had come up with nothing.

Serapis walked casually into the room and approached them; Dr. Shivens visibly paled and stood rigid with unmasked terror. Link already had his sword out and was ready to engage in battle on the other hand. It didn't matter to him that he had been badly injured only a little while ago. He was better now and that's all there was to it.

Zelda had awoken from her short rest, but remained calm upon discovering a certain someone's presence.

Serapis had fully recovered from the severe damage done to him and it certainly seemed as though another fight was on its way. He lunged for Dr. Shivens, with him being the easiest to get to, but Kiani intervened and pegged him with a shadow ball he had quickly summoned.

"Should we stay or do you want me to teleport us out of here?" Kitty asked Kiani, seeking the guidance of her older brother.

Link gave her his thoughts on the matter instead. "Why back down and run like cowards? Serapis came to us, so I say we send him packing."

"I agree with Link," Nodin said backing him.

Serapis had long since recuperated from the lone beam, but simply stood there observing, finding their talk amongst themselves to be amusing with him being right there and all.

Link was tired of being inactive, so he went on the attack…it backfired on him however. Serapis caught Link's sword in mid-swing and yanked it from his hands. Link had little time to react as his sword came flying at him point first with an amazing amount of velocity to back it. He was able to move quickly enough to get out of the way and get Dr. Shivens to momentary safety as well though, so the weapon continued on its way and caused harm to no one. Sadly, it ended up snapping in half upon impact with the stone wall behind them.

Link's mouth fell agape at the sight and one would have thought by his expression of pure horror that he would have rather been impaled by his sword rather than see it broken. It was quite pitiful.

"Looks like you no longer have a weapon, insolent fool," Serapis gloated; it was clear who his next victim was going to be.

Serapis came at Link in a sudden charge, but he was not allowed his quarry. Kitty teleported Link out of the way, Nodin and Kiani hit him with a powerful blast of their respective powers, and Fay struck him with her sword. Sparks flew as it hit a section of an impenetrable armor of scales that Serapis apparently had scattered over his body in several places as witnessed before in a different location on his back.

Link realized then that teamwork was more important than what he had first thought, especially since Serapis had no one to team up with but himself.

Link walked over to the wall and picked up the remains of his sword to find it had been cleanly snapped in two. In one hand he held the hilt and lower half of the sword, and in the other hand he held the top half. Without a sword he didn't think there was much he could contribute to any amount of teamwork that could be formed, even if he were to unhappily serve as a mere distraction. However, he did think up something that he thought would prove to have a great effect in their favor.

Taking the broken sword with him, he turned his attention to the battle at hand only to find that in the time his mind had been focused elsewhere, the situation had gotten worse.

Zelda, Dr. Shivens, and Kitty stood a ways away fervently discussing some matter that had to be of relative importance, so they were doing ok for the time being…but in Serapis' clawed grasp was none other than a futilely struggling Fay. Her sword had fallen to the ground and no matter what Kiani and Nodin did, they couldn't get him to let go.

The three lost in conversation seemed to have made a decision in regards to whatever it was they had been talking about, and Kitty approached Serapis just as a red glow encompassed Fay's body. Some sixth sense within Link told him that he had better act swiftly if he wanted to accomplish what he had planned, and he did just that.

He leapt through the air, bouncing from bed to bed to use that as leverage to build his speed, and after transferring the momentum into his arms, he threw what he held of his sword. The two pieces soared right into Serapis' wide open mouth and were lodged at the very back of the large space.

With the glowing red light disappearing from around her, Fay dropped to the floor when Serapis released her and his hands groped to do something about the objects that now choked him and brought pain into his system.

Kitty acted upon that moment and did what she had been instructed to do and placed a hand on Serapis. The both of them disappeared, but Kitty returned alone a few seconds later breathing a deep sigh of relief.

"You could have been killed doing a stunt like that, Kitty! Where did you take him?" Kiani asked; brotherly concern was written all over his face.

"Just relax for a second. Link provided the perfect distraction needed, unintended though it may have been, so Serapis' guard was down and there was nothing he could do to stop me from teleporting him to the farthest end of the temple," Kitty replied calmly.

_Well, _Link thought dejectedly, _I guess I did end up being the distraction after all… _He leaned against the wall to recover a bit from his latest action.

"Besides, you should be more concerned for Fay right now than me anyways," Kitty pointed out.

Kiani didn't comment, but stooped to lift Fay up. Although she had previously been unmoving, she moved now and pushed him away, all the while standing up on her own and insisting that she was fine and didn't need any help.

"Are you sure?" Kiani asked, persisting in his trying to help her.

"Yes!" she exclaimed in an exasperated tone pushing him away again.

"You're not going to pick up your sword?" Kiani seemed to have something figured out that the others had yet to catch onto.

"Maybe later," she replied with a shrug before taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Do me a favor Link, pick up her sword and bring it here," Kiani told him. Fay gave Kiani a questioning glace as Link went to complete the task with silent compliance.

Link was an unsuspecting victim going about this thing he had been asked to do as if it were easy. He was certainly proven wrong when he tried to lift the sword.

He made to grip the hilt, but when he tried to pull it up, he almost toppled over just from the weight of it. Kitty stifled a giggle at the sight. "Ugh…why is it so heavy?" Link moaned. Despite his despondent tone, he still tried to pick it up in his determination to show that he was capable of doing it. He hadn't let Serapis best him, so he definitely wasn't about to let a stationary sword achieve such a thing.

"Well, it was blessed by the goddesses and made perfect for Fay's strength…" Nodin said slowly. He was baffled by Kiani's unexpected request and Fay's strange behavior…She never defiled her sword by leaving it in a place such as the ground.

Link managed to get it about an inch off the ground before he had to let it fall. "Forget it…I give up. If you want her sword Kiani, then you can get it yourself."

"Care to give it a try, Fay?" Kiani asked with a smirk.

"Why does it matter?" Fay retorted, becoming agitated for whatever reason.

"What exactly did Serapis do to you?" Kiani returned.

"He--…nothing. He did nothing," she replied hesitantly.

"He stole your power. That's what I think he did. He's been leeching off of all of us, and that's why he was able to shift into another person. Not only has he leeched from you Fay, I believe he has now stolen your power. You just don't want us to know that because then you think we won't allow you to participate in fighting him," Kiani stated.

"No, I still have it…I--…Here, I'll show you," she abruptly stood and went to pick up her sword.

"You're only going to make a fool of yourself," Kiani pointed out.

Fay ignored him and reached down. However, she couldn't do it. Following this, she broke down crying and slumped onto the ground. "H-how'd you know?"

Kiani sighed, "There are times when I hate being right…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

All righty, I'm gonna be gone at a church camp this week (won't be back 'til next weekend) soooo…that means the next chapter will take even longer to put up. I'll try to get it done asap when I get back, but…that may not necessarily be soon. I'd say no later than two weeks from tonight, so basically two Sundays from now…Hopefully it'll be a much better chapter than this one was…

Reviewer replies are up, so be sure to check those out.  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I don't own The Legend of Zelda.


	11. The Next Move

**Chapter 11  
****The Next Move**

Link had zoned out while the others were talking, lost in his own thoughts and unconcerned about missing anything since he felt he had already pieced the puzzle together.

He had obviously been anything but happy when his sword broke, but in a way it wasn't that surprising…not against something as strong as what Serapis was supposed to be. It was no Master Sword, but a gift from Zelda back when they didn't hate each other. He had quickly become fond of the weapon and he was glad that it didn't bring up any painful memories of their past together.

Besides a bit of crime fighting on the side, Link hadn't really had much to sharpen his fighting skills with since having returned from the alternate future after defeating Ganondorf. He had put himself through some intense training at several points in the past years, but he didn't think he could be blamed for only bringing a sword down to a temple that was supposed to have been left deserted for a great multitude of years. Then again, you would think that after all his experience with temples he would have been a bit more paranoid and taken more precautions before venturing into it. Too bad paranoia wasn't something Link suffered from.

He had wanted to travel lightly and that had been another factor that had caused him to bring only a sword. His bow and arrow set, bombs, and shield had all been left at what he called home. Here he was weaponless and overwhelmed by a feeling of vulnerability. He still had his power to think though, but would he be able to contribute much? He wasn't the one who had dealt with Serapis before after all…Then again, his last plan had worked out pretty well and even those who had handled him before were encountering new twists…

"So what you're basically saying is Serapis' ability to shapeshift is just an enhancement of your ability to shift into shadow?" Zelda's voice broke across Link's thoughts.

"Yup," Kiani nodded in reply.

"Has he ever been able to leech powers before? Is that why he was able to make a comeback unscathed or get here so quickly?" Zelda asked, attempting to piece things together for herself.

"He has never shown signs of such a skill before, but I think it is something that takes time to develop…Like he's been down here in this temple with us for all this time and even though he was trapped, I think he was still able to find a way to tap into our powers…If he's stealing your healing gift, then he must have gotten faster at it. It's hard to say if he is though, he always found a way to come back in the past…up until we locked him away…"

"How were the goddesses not prepared for this? Did they know he had that kind of power?" She continued with her game of twenty questions.

"…Serapis isn't of this world, so I doubt they knew this would come about. Don't ask where he is from because I can't supply that with an answer," Kiani seemed rather bored.

Fay had sauntered out of being the center of attention and now lay on one of the beds in a depressed state of mind. It didn't help that Kiani was making things sound simpler than they were…

"Where did those gifts of yours that you have displayed come from? Were you born with it or was there some sort of strange incident…?" Dr. Shivens eyes shined with genuine curiosity.

Kiani hesitated and he cast Nodin a pleading glance as if asking for help. It certainly seemed as though the question had caught him off guard and he wasn't willing to give an answer.

"We weren't always like this…" Kitty was the one to speak up for them. "But how it all came to be is none of your concern I'm sorry to inform you."

"Why not?" Dr. Shivens pouted, reminding Link of a little kid who wasn't getting their way.

"Because it's too complicated…and you wouldn't understand," Kiani had regained his usually composure after hearing Kitty respond with a calm demeanor and in a way that should have given him the hint that that was something not to be discussed. It was a touchy matter for Kiani and he didn't want to relive the experience again just by talking about it.

There was something tugging on the edge of Link's mind like there was something they were all missing…a certain detail that had already been unveiled. He had chosen not to speak even after he had tuned in for Zelda's short round of questioning due to the fact that he knew he needed to figure out what it was they were not seeing.

His eyes met Kitty's and he realized it right then. "Wait, what are we doing just standing around here? Do you think he's leeched the ability to teleport?"

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Lying several feet away from Serapis feet was the bloody remnants of Link's sword. Though he had healed himself of the gruesome wound and freed his mouth from those items, it had done a great deal of damage to his pride. Hurt by a broken sword? …He couldn't deny his thought that such a thing was absolutely pathetic. It didn't matter that the broken ends had retained a jagged sharpness.

It was mostly the boy that irked him. Where had he come from? He had been confident he could handle the four 'Guardians', they had kept the same tactics. But that boy…he had no powers, what made him so special? Maybe he was just someone well versed in the battle arts, destined to become a knight…In any case however, Serapis decided he was just going to have to kill him like all the rest.

Unless they could kill him before he could heal himself, he didn't think he could lose. All he had to do was use the teleportation power he had gradually leeched from Kitty and get out of any sticky situation. As shameful as such an act might be, his pride wasn't worth his life…it was however, worth getting angry over.

Without fear of the traps laid throughout the temple, Serapis set off again. He would bide his time before striking again…no need rushing into things after all.

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"Dangit, you're right! Here we are being idiots and standing around like we have all the time in the world," Nodin stated. "Fay, I know you're unhappy right now and we're all unhappy for you, but please help us come up with a plan incase he decides to return. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

She rolled over and looked at him warily. Her eyes were a dull sheen and she appeared drawn. It was almost as if with her power he had leeched out her energy too. There had been nothing they could do to comfort her though; none of them had experienced the same thing. "And just how may I be of service to you?" she snapped.

"I haven't figured that out yet, but just pay attention," Nodin replied. He felt sorry for her, but not if she was going to act in such a way.

"We don't have everything in regards to Serapis figured out, so we need to act upon what we do know," Link said, trying to work things out in his mind as he spoke. "Like…instead of luring him with someone who is defenseless…lure him with someone with power that he wants."

"But what if he came to us first?" Fay countered. Apparently she had figured out Link was weaponless like she was 'weaponless' without her powers, and like him she still had her own thoughts to contribute.

"But what if he doesn't? What if he wants to make us wait? He probably realizes by now that we know he can teleport here and will be waiting to make an attack at a time that will catch us off guard," Link countered. "And if an ambush went well then we could hopefully finish him off once and for all. Team work is effective and we mostly need to make sure that he can't get away once he's down for the count."

"If…By saying if you make it sound a bit too chancy," Zelda snidely replied, but she was impressed though chose not to show it. The reason she had brought him down here and her feelings towards him kept her from being nice directly to his face. Healing him like she had was another story. "And if Serapis is leeching their powers then why all of a sudden did he decide to suck Fay dry?"

"I assume he's only tapped into their power from the standpoint he's at now, but by 'sucking Fay dry', as you put it, he probably gets it all and it's better off for him to leave us with nothing," Kiani said. "Well, that's what I figure."

"It is going to be very chancy and that's the facts. If I had a weapon though I think I could really do some damage in this oncoming strategy," Link followed up. He still felt stupid for bringing nothing else with him.

"If you could lift Fay's sword then you could use it…" Kitty said. "But too bad you can't."

"What am I to do during all this? And what about the princess?" Dr. Shivens inquisitiveness had gotten the better of his contemplative silence.

"I want to partake in this fight," Zelda spoke up.

Link was stunned. "What, you!"

"You did teach me a thing or two, remember?" she replied with a smile.

"And just what would you fight with?" he asked knowing Dr. Shivens was astonished as well and surely wanted to ask the same thing.

She grabbed her bag and pulled out several small objects. One so happened to be a dagger. Link openly laughed at her as did the rest of them.

She pierced them with a cold glare and explained, also indicating the other really small orbs she held in her hand. "It would serve as a good distraction to the real threat and these can blind him for a few seconds once thrown down, giving you all the opportune moment to strike. And even though you laughed at me Link, I do have something for you-a gift from Nabooru. I think it might just help you and your predicament." Link gazed in wonder as she pulled out a pair of silver gauntlets and handed them to him. "They may not be as strong as the Golden Gauntlets, but they just might provide you enough strength to lift Fay's sword."

He put them on and gave her a blank look, unsure of what to say.

"I suggest we get going. Dr. Shivens, you can stay here. Do you think you could find him Kitty? Once you do, report back to us." It looked like Zelda had suddenly decided to take charge.

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…I wish I never suffered from paranoia…Technically I shouldn't even be allowed to watch scary movies…just seein' some of the commercials makes me wanna cry…but that's what hiding under the blanket is for, right? lol. Camp was good and I had a pretty awesome time and I appreciate all the reviews I got to come back to. : ) Replies are up if you wanna check those out…  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own The Legend of Zelda. Serapis and co. are mine though…


	12. Curiosity

**Chapter 12  
****Curiosity**

Kitty immediately vanished and they stood waiting.

Link went to Fay's fallen weapon and though it still felt quite heavy in his grasp, he was capable of lifting the sword. He didn't offer any comment on Zelda's taking command even if he knew he was more battle smart than her. She could have the spotlight for all he cared; to kill Serapis was what he wanted.

"Would there happen to be a map of this temple?" Zelda asked. "The more familiarized with the lay of the land we are, I'm sure the more of service Link and myself will be."

"Actually, we do," Nodin said. From one of his pockets he withdrew a folded piece of paper and carefully unfolded it before handing it to her.

Although the ink was partially faded and the paper shriveled, she was still able to make out what she needed to. Link came over and peered at it over her shoulder. The map was made up of a series of lines that linked together representing the many different passageways, and it also marked how each part matched up with places on the surface world back when the map was made.

Even though the map was scaled down to equal very small proportions, Link could tell that the temple was of incredible size. They had merely been blessed by luck to have met up with Nodin in the first place. The structure had apparently been designed to ensnare many a victim just by all the choices that could go wrong, it was astounding to him how they had done what they did back when they entered the temple. How it was made to be as it was had Link sure that it was provided by the goddesses themselves.

Kitty broke his thoughts when she reappeared. "I found him," was all she said though.

"Yes, and where is he?" Kiani asked.

"Follow me." She walked out into the hallway.

Zelda put the map away and made to follow. Link however stopped her, "Something doesn't feel right about this…"

"You're right, something's up," Kiani said, but he joined Kitty in the hallway anyway.

Nothing happened so that reassured the others and they followed suit, excluding Dr. Shivens of course. He simply sat in a chair to wait as they went off on this new endeavor. Fay chose not to stay behind despite recent events.

"Well Kitty, are you going to take us where we need to be?" Kiani prodded his sister.

She flashed him a malicious smile and before anyone could react, she darted back into the room and a door. She tried to slam the door shut, but Link stuck out his foot in the knick of time. Pain laced its way up his leg but he ignored it and yanked the door back open, the scene before them was one that did not come unexpectedly after 'Kitty's' strange behavior.

In the impersonated Kitty's place was Serapis and cowered in the corner was Dr. Shivens trying to escape the flaying swings of Serapis' claws.

_So that's how he plays it, going for the easy ones first… _Link thought bitterly. He was thankful not to have sheathed his newly acquired sword, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to after figuring his back might not be able to handle the weight, and he led the charge towards the humanoid serpent, followed by the others of course.

Serapis' next move caught them off guard though. He snatched Dr. Shivens and flung the older man at Link, forcing him to maneuver his sword and avoid harming Dr. Shivens as he fell on top of him and took Link down with him. Serapis snarled at the rest and then snatched the both of them up before vanishing with his captives.

The rest were stunned and not entirely sure of what had just happened, everything had occurred so quickly…

"We've been tricked…" Zelda whispered softly. "Link, please hang in there…"

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Serapis threw Link against the wall and watched in satisfaction as he dropped to the floor cringing in pain. Despite this though, Link managed to rise back to his feet.

Serapis smiled at him and set Dr. Shivens down much more gently. Dr. Shivens resorted back to his cowering and trembled violently in fear. Serapis had changed his plans and had decided to learn what he could about the strange boy before finishing him off. It was foolish for them to have sent the girl, Kitty, but he had dealt with her accordingly.

"What do you want?" Link spat, dropping into a battle stance.

"Where do you come from, boy, and what is your name?" Serapis hissed towering over Link.

Link stared at him quizzically but his reply was harsh regardless of his confusion. "That is none of your business."

"That may be so, but I am curious and when my curiosity has been aroused I will get my answers."

"That seems a bit arrogant, don't you think?" Link stated smugly.

"If you do not give me the answers I want then you will endure great pain," Serapis threatened.

"Do what you will to me, I won't tell you anything…I do not fear you."

Dr. Shivens whimpered as Serapis swept him up again. "But this man does." There was a sickening crunch as Serapis snapped Dr. Shivens wrist backwards and the poor man cried out in pain while tears coursed down his haggard features. Link bit his lip and straightened…He would not have cared for what Serapis did to him, but he couldn't watch an innocent man sustain such suffering. "Now are you willing to talk?"

"…Maybe…" Link muttered. Why did Serapis want to know such miniscule details about him of all people?

Serapis snapped the bone farther up that same arm and Dr. Shivens cried out once again. "It is possible for this man to endure much more before he is taken by death you know."

"All right…I'll talk. My name is Link and I am from Hyrule."

Serapis growled but then considered something, "Unless that is the current fashion of the surface world, I assume you are from the forest…but it is clear you are Hylian. How is that so?"

Link's bafflement showed itself and extended across his features. He couldn't grasp the fact that Serapis could be asking these questions out of genuine curiosity. He sensed a trap waiting for him farther down the road, but for now there was not much he could do except play along. He had hesitated too long for Serapis' patience and there was another snap of bone followed by a yowl of agony.

"I was raised in the Kokiri Forest, but circumstances came about that led to my decision to leave," Link replied while maintaining a calm demeanor. Beneath the surface he was poised and ready like a snake on the verge of attack. If Serapis were to try anything against him, he wouldn't be left unprepared.

"Where did you learn to fight?"

"…I taught myself…One can never predict what the future brings and therefore I though it necessary to know how to defend myself."

"And I don't believe that's all there is to it," Serapis replied snidely. This time instead of breaking the bone of Dr. Shivens arm, he tore it completely off and flung it at Link.

Dr. Shivens passed out from the pain and blood spurted out from the opening and splattered all over Link, though he did manage to avoid being struck by the detached limb. Serapis threw his unconscious form to the side to save for later purposes and stepped menacingly towards Link. The boy's jaw had not been nearly as loose as he had wanted it to be and he felt as if valuable time had been wasted.

Link watched Serapis closely, keeping a wary eye out for any tricks.

"A mangled arm does not deter you, why is that?"

In truth Link was greatly appalled by the atrocious act, but he had seen all manner of blood shed before and it did not affect him as it would most. The doctor would probably bleed to death before he could be saved, but at this point Link couldn't do much. He wiped the blood from his face and charged at Serapis, who in turn stood ready with his claws outstretched like swords.

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"Without Kitty this will take longer, but somehow we've got to find them," Kiani said. Devoid of knowledge of what ill fate had befallen his sister he was heart broken, but he would not let that dissuade him from what needed to be done. He was confident Link could hold his own for a little while, and with that kind of distraction to hold Serapis' attention, now was the perfect time to strike…the only problem was locating him and getting there fast enough.

"Morph into shadow and you can scout ahead. Nodin, Zelda, and I can find our own way," Fay stated determinedly.

Kiani nodded, "Right. I can help Link fend off Serapis. That Dr. Shivens may not be alive but your friend Link…I'm willing to bet he still is and putting up a valiant fight. He certainly seems like no ordinary warrior."

When Kiani had left, Zelda smiled. "Well, that would be because he's not. Shall we depart from this place and get on with our search?"

Nodin nodded and led the way, picking their pathway to his liking, making logical guesses that best fit where any rustle of noise was coming from. Separated from the fight as they were, they could only hope time was on their side.

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I'm sorry if that chapter was a disappointment… : ( Reviewer replies are up btw…  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: The Legend of Zelda is still not mine.


	13. Quick Thinking

**Chapter 13  
****Quick Thinking**

Link parried Serapis' claws with the golden blade he wielded, but he could not avoid even the slightest bit of pain from the onslaught as a shower of sparks rained down on him. They broke away from each other and circled around the room, keeping a trained out for any sign of an available target.

Link's main problem was that he wasn't sure of himself and his abilities. Would he last long against the might of Serapis in a one-on-one battle such as this? He had had several chances to assess how fierce his opponent was in battle, but that was in a group setting and the odds certainly did play out differently. To make matters worse, Link had no idea how far Serapis' limits expanded. He was certain of one thing though, Serapis was stronger than him, but hopefully…he wasn't smarter and brains could triumph over brawns when the climatic point of battle was reached.

"Pathetic human, why are you even in this place?" Serapis hissed. "It is by the hand of your own foolishness that I will kill you."

"Oh really now? And just how do you plan to go about accomplishing such a deed?" Link stated with a smirk, hoping to lure him in.

"Like this!" Serapis exclaimed. He audited a vociferous roar and charged at Link, who in turn skipped nimbly to the side.

Link had positioned himself directly in front of one of the walls and since he had purposefully waited until the last second to get to safety, Serapis collided with the stone head first. It was ridiculously stupid on Serapis' part, or would have been for anyone on that matter. In fact it almost seemed suspiciously stupid that Serapis would fall for such a stunt, not that Link was ungrateful or anything since his strategy had worked, but Serapis had never struck Link as the stupid type…Although that could be used as fuel for his goal to win the battle through outsmarting his adversary.

Serapis easily shook off the disgraceful blow and immediately turned upon Link, who had unfortunately only managed to get several feet away in the small amount of time allotted him. Serapis' speed was shockingly fast, but Link's reaction time was good as well and he blocked the thrust delivered by one of Serapis' clawed hands.

However, he swung the other hand in a sweeping slash and just by the astute keenness of the claws they sheared away fragile pieces of flesh. Though it only tore jagged tears across Link's side and stomach, had Serapis been closer or his claws longer the damage would have been exceeding far beyond that.

Link ignored the freshly inflicted wound and remained attentive to Serapis' every move. He performed a smooth back flip to put more distance between them, but Serapis had no trouble eliminating the gap that separated them and putting Link's efforts to waste.

For a fleeting moment Link was left completely vulnerable as he stumbled over Dr. Shivens' sprawled out leg, but Serapis failed to take advantage of the opportunity, much to Link's relief of course, but it was yet another stupid blunder on Serapis' part. Either something was up or Link had seriously overestimated him when it came to battle smarts.

Serapis did eventually realize he had lost an opportune moment, but angry with his own idiocy he candidly made up for it by bombarding Link with a brutal series of hammering attacks. It had apparently occurred to him to not waste time with idle moves, but to end the battle quickly by defeating Link in an all out frenzy in which he exerted nothing but pure brute strength.

Link wasn't ready to admit defeat anytime soon though, and was astonishingly able to ward away the most savage of blows and duck around to Serapis' backside-an easy task since Serapis' height extended well over Link's own. Link brought the sword down and figured some of Serapis' recently displayed stupidity had rubbed off on him when the blade was deflected by the coarse black scales. He had already learned that lesson and yet he had forgotten that it had only been the base of the neck that yielded to any sort of attack brought on by a sword from behind. He didn't have time to make another better conceived attack though as Serapis swiftly swung around and swept Link up into his strong grasp.

Link stared levelly at Serapis' narrow eyes. He kept a calm exterior despite his predicament and struggled to hatch some sort of a plan to get out of this mess.

Taking the sword he had somehow managed to retain, he sliced away at the clawed hand that held him all the while thinking, _Reinforcements would be nice…_

Almost as if the goddesses had answered his unspoken plea, a blast of shadow energy came flying from the sidelines and found its mark on the side of Serapis' large jaw. Serapis growled and tilted his head slightly to view their guest that was unwelcome from only one being's point of view.

Kiani had restored his human characteristics by returning from his shadow form and stood there defiantly. "Drop him," he growled vehemently, already having formed another ball of shadow energy in his hand.

Serapis merely laughed at this action considering it to pose as nothing more than a threat of little importance. "You do not scare me, boy. Have you not learned by now that my skills have evolved to counteract the abilities of you and your friends?"

Link's mind absorbed this bit of information, realizing that this was why Serapis' scales had become impassable in many sections…obviously being where Fay had struck him most.

Kiani glared at Serpapis as he continued, "That means the powers of you and your friends will only accomplish minimal damage against me as it has been since the time it built up during my imprisonment."

Link rolled his eyes. It was quite clear that Serapis was relishing this chance to gloat. Sure he had bettered himself to contend with them, but that didn't mean he had had the time to do so against Link. That just might have been why Serapis wanted to learn more about him, and it really had been out of pure fascination that he had asked those questions…or curiosity to put it in Serapis' more derogatory term. Since Serapis couldn't have already adapted to Link's strengths, even if he had done so to deflect the sword Link now wielded, Link was all the more determined to be Serapis' executioner.

Link tried to make use of Serapis' brief diversion of attention but prying his hand open with the sword, but the attempt failed miserably and Serapis knocked the weapon free from Link's hand.

"Now watch as the stranger you brought in from the outer world loses his life." It seemed to Link that that was why Serapis had rid him of the sword' he knew not to make the same mistake twice. Well, Link had another trick up his sleeve and initiated the action as Serapis prepared to clamp his jaws over him.

Arching his back to allow himself some room to act, Link clasped both hands together and swung as if he were swinging a baseball bat…and he struck home, nailing Serapis scare on the nose.

His grip on Link loosened as the sickening crunch of bone infiltrated the air and the center of his snake-like face was left in a semi-smashed state. Link knew he didn't have much time to act so he raised his hands over his head and slid right through Serapis' mitigated grasp onto the ground below. That was one crucial moment having a lean figure had definitely come in handy.

Having been relieved of his burden, Serapis didn't bother to reclaim it but sent his hands to survey the damage done to his face. Fresh red blood dripped from the wound and trickled down and over multiple scales before finding its way to the ground as well where they formed dark wet spots.

Link smiled grimly. He realized he had discovered a fundamental key to defeating Serapis. Serapis was indeed one to learn from previous mistakes and so his body accommodating over time to defend against Kiani and company made sense. They just had to come up with new tactics that had never been done before. Even then things would still be difficult.

Serapis was prepared to teleport himself away so he could hide until he recovered from the painful hit, but Kiani wasn't about to let him do such a thing…and neither was Link. Link grabbed for the sword and then alongside Kiani they dived for Serapis, their fingers barely brushed against the scales of his leg as they were teleported with him. Unfortunately for Nodin, Zelda, and Fay…they arrived just in that moment.

"Dangit…" Nodin muttered.

Fay surveyed the damage done and immediately spotted the limp form of Dr. Shivens lying heavily against a wall in a pool of his own blood and presumed him to be dead…which of course, he obviously was.

Zelda tried to keep her eyes away from the sight of the detached arm devoid of its owner and turned to face Nodin and Fay, "…For the sake of stopping Serapis before he can even fathom the idea of going to the surface, we _have to_ find them…again."

Fay nodded and they returned to their search. The labyrinth had become an obstacle that only hindered them from finding their destination.

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Serapis promptly made a grab for Kiani upon reappearing in another section of the temple, momentarily putting his most recent injury aside. Though he tried desperately to get away, Kiani could not escape the reach of the bloody hands that seized him.

Link knew exactly where this was going and though he was a bit disoriented from the sudden warp to a new location, he took in his surroundings and formulated a plan based on where they were. Arrows lay scattered on the ground all around and Link rammed into Serapis hoping to knock him backwards as well as hoping there were more arrows to be exported from the trap. And as fate would have it, there was…but with it came a price. As soon as the trap was set off, the lights flickered out and they were left in the enveloping darkness Link had witnessed before in this same location.

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I'm goin' on vacation this week to a place that's a _long_ drive away from where I live and I won't be back until next Sunday, so I might have an update ready by then and I might not…I will be sure to bring my notebook along though and see what I can do. It'll be two weeks at the latest that you'll be seein' the next update, but I'll certainly try to get it in before then…so…don't forget to check out reviewer replies if you happen to have reviewed the last chapter: )  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own The Legend of Zelda. I do own Serapis and all that other stuff I made up though…


	14. Request Denied

**Chapter 14  
****Request Denied**

Chaos dominated the battle ground with its hectic fury and made it nearly impossible to comprehend the current happenings.

There was a shrill hiss emitted by Serapis, most likely, and this was followed by a loud thud as if he had fallen or dropped his prey. Link had been unable to right himself after his recent stunt, and he felt an arrow imbed itself in his arm as he toppled forward. Following this he hit the ground and took on a stoic state of immobility unknowing of what direction safety lay in.

Gingerly feeling around his injured arm with his fingers, he was relieved to find that the arrow hadn't gone deep…though if the tip had been dipped in poison then such luck would have run out, but he didn't think that would be the case. However, he was uncertain as to whether or not he should leave the arrow in its place or take it out right then since sight currently wasn't available to him; Link decided to rest a moment and concentrate on any background noise detectable beyond the continuous whir of arrows.

Link realized that there was no other sound. Serapis wasn't small enough to duck down and avoid the arrows, he would have already teleported to a more 'comfortable' location. Did he take Kiani with him, or had he shifted into another form to evade the arrows?

There was a sharp intake of breath nearby that confirmed someone was still there with him. As to whom it was, he wasn't sure. Link proceeded forward crouched in a low crawl, and his hand soon fell on a booted foot. "Kiani!" he called, assuming it was him.

"Yes, though it appears our 'friend' has left us...And after all that effort, it was for nothing too…" Kiani's voice bitterly replied.

Though Link knew caution was something that he now needed to keep close by, he was quite sure that it was the real Kiani he had spoken to. "Well, let's get out of here and then we can turn our worries back to Serapis."

"Good plan, let's go!"

And so the two gradually made their way along as they crawled forward directly below the arrows' range. They were poked multiple times by the arrows that had already taken residence on the floor.

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The healing process this time was painful; more so than it had ever been before. Serapis could feel the bone as it formed back together in its rightful place and his face progressively returned to normal. Once the process was done, Serapis set himself to pacing about the corridor as he delved into a thoughtful mood. He needed a way to demolish his adversary, though a very worthy one he was, but what how was he to carry out such a task so that there would be no way the boy could retaliate with some new strategy?

That last trick had certainly been a clever one, but it had gone in Serapis' favor seeing as how he was able to get away and heal himself. Serapis wanted Link's loss to be more than just a failed attempt to make a leather pincushion. …Not that the arrows would have penetrated his rough hide anyways.

An idea came to him as he remembered that humans had very complex emotions in which love often took residence. That other girl, the blonde…surely the boy was close to such a pretty thing. An evil smile expanded the width of Serapis' mouth as his mind filled with all the sadistic ways this act could be carried out.

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Link, who had been able to get the arrow out and bandage himself up, and Kiani had finally made it back to where each party had first encountered each other…and now they had reached a dead end in the sense that they couldn't agree on what to do next.

"You don't think he killed her, do you?" Kiani asked out of the blue.

"Kitty seemed like she could stand on her own well enough to get away, but what you're suggesting is always a possibility…" Link stated slowly, trying not to create any reason for Kiani to get upset.

He bit his lip thoughtfully instead of replying and for a while they stood there pondering their options in silence, and they did so up until something dawned on Link.

"Um, where are the others?" he asked tensely.

"I left them behind to find you faster, why do you ask?"

"Do you think Serapis would go after them instead of us?"

"Let's hope not. We separated at the bedroom so there's no way I could take a guess at what direction they took."

"What about the dust, would there be footprints for us to follow?"

Kiani's face lit up at the thought. "Of course! I can't believe I didn't think of that…Well, come on, we'd better get a move on then."

"Wait, you seem able to move much quicker in the form of a shadow…Would you be able to turn me into one?"

"You want me to do what?" Kiani exclaimed in surprise.

"You heard me; can you do it?" Link kept a calm demeanor about himself.

"Er…probably, though I'd imagine that it'll be awfully painful…" Kiani stated after a moment of slight hesitation.

"You're telling me that every time you transform you experience pain?" Link asked blatantly.

"Nope, just the first time…You see, your body has to adjust to such a change in its matter."

"I can handle pain so that shouldn't be a problem," Link replied confidently. "I trust you can change me back as well…?"

"That part'll be a piece of cake," Kiani said with a grin, having found more assurance in his abilities after thinking through what Link was asking from him.

"So you've done this to someone else before?"

"Nah, but I know what it's like and…I've had a long time to learn my body's limitations; this should work out great. Although I must say that even though the pain really only lasts for a few seconds, it feels like an eternity…so try not to scream, please."

Following Link's short-lived thought of _Why couldn't he have done this to the others so they could keep up too?_, Kiani placed his hands on Link's shoulders and the alterations began.

The pain that instantly swept over him was like a torrential rain, leaving nothing free from its onslaught. It felt horrible and if it weren't for Kiani's statement of '...try not to scream...' Link knew it was very likely that he would have been screaming by now. His limbs stiffened and he closed his eyes in hoping to quell the ferocity of the torment that ravaged his body. Of course, such a subtle action had no effect on the continuous bombardment. However, just as Link thought it was never going to end...the pain vanished just as quickly as it had come, leaving Link to feel as if a great weight had been lifted from him.

_Then again, I bet he didn't want them to go through that…It was voluntary for me after all._

He slowly opened his eyes to find Kiani now standing several feet away to survey his handiwork.

"Welcome to the shadow world," he stated before morphing himself into shadow form as well.

Link stared in amazement down at his hands, turning them over this way and that. It was actually kind of cool to see them all shadowy like that, and it was quite ironic because he had encountered his shadow form before in the alternate timeline.

But enough of that, the important thing was to find the others and hope Serapis hadn't found them first.

Link was amazed by how light he felt and how much quicker his movements were as they traveled along. What would have looked like just a darkened corner become textured and vibrant to his eye, and he felt strange when at times he couldn't even distinguish his own body from the surrounding shadows he clung to as they made their way along.

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Zelda sighed, "This wandering around of ours doesn't seem to be doing us a whole lot of good. I know moving about like this we're more likely to spot them wherever they may have gone to, but it's becoming quite tedious to carry on in this manner."

"You're right, but what else is there to do?" Fay queried.

"I'd suggest staying right where you are," the all too familiar voice of Serapis gritted out from behind.

They immediately froze, more from shock than actual obedience to the statement, and cast nervous glances at each other. Nodin was the first to turn and face their enemy.

"It's so good to see you again," he said sarcastically, adding to the end of that statement, "not."

"Maybe you should keep your tongue in check boy, especially since I could easily pommel you to the ground." Serapis gave voice to a ferocious growl to back this statement.

"If you can supposedly 'pommel me to the ground', then why haven't you done so-what is it you want?"

"Why are we wasting our time exchanging words with _him_?" Fay muttered under her breath. Despite limited abilities she had been reduced to, she was still ready for a fight.

"I want her," Serapis bluntly put it, pointing a claw in Zelda's direction.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but she's not yours for the taking," Nodin snapped in return.

"It seems to me that we have different views on the situation," Serapis said with a sly smile, totally undeterred by the harsh way Nodin spoke to him.

Serapis vanished and Nodin looked around frantically trying to locate him incase he should reappear. In fact, he did…and the spot was directly behind Zelda too. He grabbed her around the waist and instead of screaming, she reached into a pouch and pulled out one of the small orbs she had shown off earlier. Striking accurately, she nailed him in the eye.

A blinding flash lit up the room and his hold on her no longer existed as his hands flew to his eyes. She dropped to the ground and rolled away.

"We need to---…" her statement was cut short as Serapis blindly nabbed her again; this time he made sure to hold her in such a way that her arms were pinned to her sides.

Nodin summoned a powerful wind with the hopes of accomplishing something helpful to Zelda, but it was no use. In the next instant, Serapis had left. And with him…was Princess Zelda.

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My birthday is in a few days, wooooooooooooot!...Welp, reviewer replies are up so feel free to check those out.  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I have no claim on The Legend of Zelda. …sigh…


	15. A Trick or Two

**Chapter 15  
****A Trick or Two**

"I demand that you release me at once," Princess Zelda growled, meeting Serapis' eyes with a fierce glare.

"Now why would I want to do a thing like that?" he asked, clearly amused.

Zelda wasn't stupid and knew he wouldn't comply with such a demand, but her plan was to keep him distracted. In other words, make him talk.

"Because I am the Princess of Hyrule."

"Titles mean nothing to me," he said with a snort. "You're pathetic."

"Well, it was worth a try," she would have shrugged had it not been for the fact that he still held her with her arms pinned to her sides. "Just what is it you plan to do with me?"

"I intend to use you to get to the boy," Serapis said. "Though knowing that only tells you that I'll let you live for a bit longer."

Zelda's reaction brought more amusement to Serapis. She drawn in a sharp breath and her expression was one of worry. _Link wouldn't…wouldn't use this to get revenge on me, would he? No, he wouldn't let me die…not even after what I did to him… _

Though this thought reassured Zelda somewhat, she knew she had a better chance of survival if she saved herself…and she thought she had the means by which to do it.

_Almost got it…there we go!_

"I think it's high time we get down to business—Arg!" Serapis bellowed.

Zelda had managed to get the dagger free as well as one of the blinding objects from the pouch at her hip, and she shoved the dagger into Serapis' hand. It was enough to make him lose his grip for a second as he fumbled to get the dagger away. That second was long enough for her to slide free…and take off running down the corridor.

Serapis immediately yanked the dagger out, tossed it aside, and charged after her. Zelda proved to be fast on her feet for a girl one would think didn't get much exercise with her being of royalty and all, but far from fast enough to outrun Serapis. In just three long strides, he was upon her. However, Zelda threw the orb she had still retained in her hand at Serapis and though he moved to block it, it still went off after nailing his arm. It was only enough to by her ultimately little time though.

Zelda's hope of escape was completely demolished when Serapis teleported in front of her and snagged her off the ground in mid-step.

"That was a nice try my dear, but altogether useless and a waste of my time," Serapis growled. "Shall be off now?"

Zelda squirmed futilely in Serapis hand and snapped, "No, we shall not!"

"Too bad your say in the matter counts for nothing," and with that, they vanished in search of Link so Serapis could initiate his presumed unbeatable plan.

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"Kiani, that you?" Fay asked as a shadow approached them…only a few minutes had passed since Serapis had taken Zelda and they had not moved much.

The shadow spoken to morphed back into Kiani's physical appearance and said, "Yup it's me, and Link is here too." Another shadow stepped up beside him and with a single touch from Kiani, Link was returned to normal.

"Since when could you…?" Nodin began, but Kiani cut him off.

"It doesn't matter," he stated bluntly.

"Where's Zelda?" Link asked timidly, realizing they were a head short.

Nodin hesitated. "Just before you got here…Serapis…he kind of--."

"You mean he got Zelda?" Link was astonished. "You don't think he had the intention of killing her, do you?"

"Well, that I can't tell you--…" again Nodin was interrupted, but this time it was Serapis who took that honor.

"Why don't you ask me that?"

"Let her go!" Link abruptly exclaimed in reference to the strong grip Serapis still retained on Zelda.

"Only if you do as I say first," Serapis replied haughtily.

Link didn't like how things had suddenly come about…and neither did anyone else. Zelda added no additional words to what had been said, though she seemed rather upset.

"And just what would it be that you'd like us to do? If it's to surrender, then that won't happen," Kiani voiced.

"I'd like the three of you to leave; Link stays here."

The 'three' referred to cast questioning glances at each other. "I'm afraid we can't do that," Fay snarled striking up a defensive pose.

"Why do you want just Link?" Kiani asked suspiciously.

"Because he has proved to be a thorn in my side and I'd prefer to get rid of this nuisance and then seek my revenge without interference. If you choose not to go then just know that I know many ways to make a person suffer without actually killing them," he threatened.

"I can handle him…I've done it before…" Link whispered.

"It doesn't matter, now he has a hostage," Kiani pointed out.

"No, leave. I've got a plan…and there's some personal issues I need to sort out. If he kills me, then fine. I'm not scared."

"But--…" Nodin tried to get his say in, but Serapis' patience had dwindled to nothing and he sent a strong gust of wind at them. Apparently it swept with it a teleportation spell because it did not touch Link, but it did them and they disappeared.

"Now that you've got me all to yourself, what're you gonna do about it?" Link asked, tightening his grip on the sword handle.

"I want you to toss the sword aside and dispose of those…things…on your hands as well. Or…you know how the rest goes."

"This is cheating," Link growled, but a certain thought came to him and a smirk replaced his indignant expression. "Either that, or you're afraid of me. Coward."

"I am merely doing what is necessary to accomplish the task I've set out before myself…and nothing is going to stop me this time," Serapis replied with no bodily reaction to Link's insult. "I suggest you hurry it up and rid yourself of those weapons."

Still Zelda said nothing, but now she gave Link a warning glare. Link however, was unable to comprehend what exactly it was she was warning him against. Did she mean that he should hold on to his weapons despite what Serapis might do to her, or that he had better save her or else? He figured it was the latter of the two possible conclusions, but an idea had struck him down…an idea based off of Serapis' strange behavior displayed in their previous encounter.

"No," Link declared firmly. "Not even under jurisdiction of a threat will I do as you say."

Just as Link had perceived Serapis' reaction to be one of confusion, indeed it was…shown in the form of a blank stare.

Link settled onto the fact that Serapis' intelligence level had dropped, and somehow it was tied in with Kitty's 'disappearance.' In what way, Link wasn't sure, but he had the current situation to deal with in the meantime.

Finally, Serapis spoke, but in a cautious way as if treading on frozen water. "Do you not value the life of this girl? I assumed that you…"

"Loved her?" Link finished, though the statement was said in a questioning tone. _I used to…_

Zelda waited to hear Link's thought on this. She had chosen to remain silent and hope for the best, and that Link would not make the choice to seek revenge on her.

"_Get out of the castle, I no longer wish to see you," she snapped vehemently._

"_But Zel--…" It was Link she had spoken these harsh words to and it was he who appeared to be deeply hurt. The sight of his eyes watering as though he might cry sent a pang of guilt through her._

_However, her next word rang out coldly and it was what cut him off. "Go."_

"_Can't we talk about thi--…"_

"_That means leave."_

_Link nodded and with eyes downcast and shoulders slumped he had dragged his feet and left._

That had been the first of it…and eventually he broke the relationship off with her just as she had wanted. If Link pulled through for her, Zelda promised herself that she would give him an explanation of why. She owed him that much.

"How about this Serapis, if I drop my weapons, you let her get away to behind me before you attack," Link went on, breaking through her thoughts.

"You are in no position to be bargaining, boy. I want your weapons put down first," Serapis snapped.

"Fine then, feel free to kill her."

Zelda gasped audibly and broke her silence. "Link!"

He merely winked at her and Serapis missed that subtle action, he was too distracted with pondering his options.

For one, he didn't like the idea of letting the girl go without guarantee the boy was going to keep his end of the deal, but most of all he preferred Link not to have his weapons at hand. Serapis set Zelda on the ground and she hurried to take her place behind Link. Link was not one to lie and so he set the sword aside and then placed the Silver Gauntlets beside it. Now he faced Serapis.

"I can not lift that sword on my own without taking the time to put the gauntlets on, so here's your opportunity if you're able to take it," Link called out challengingly.

And in fact this comment was true…he could not lift the sword _on his own _without first putting on the Silver Gauntlets. If things didn't play out the way Link wanted them to, then Serapis had him wide open for attack.

Fortunately enough, Zelda caught onto Link's plan with perfect timing as Serapis barreled down the hall and lunged at Link with his claws splayed out to do some serious damage. Link in turn, dived for his sword and was able to snatch it up with help from the pink light that now surrounded it.

Everything seemed to go wrong for Serapis in that instant as he was unable to stop. Link took advantage of the weak spot he'd discovered at Serapis' mouth since the evolving to accommodate certain defenses had taken a long period of time versus the shorter one Link had been down here for, and Nodin, Kiani, and Fay reappeared.

Though Serapis attempted to block the sword from reaching the more vulnerable parts inside his mouth by closing it, it still scraped off a good chunk of scale-covered skin. Following this, Serapis vanished quite abruptly.

"How did you all get back like that?" Link asked after putting on the Silver Gauntlets so Zelda could let down her magic.

"Serapis taught me a new trick," Nodin replied smugly, "and there was still enough teleportation magic lingering in the air for me to imitate it…Took me a while though."

"I take it Serapis was afraid of losing and ran away?" Kiani voiced.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it that…he seems to want to avoid any real confrontation at this point and if things don't go his way, he leaves," Link said.

Zelda knew she had a promise to keep so she told him, "Link, there's some things I need to talk with you about…"

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Ever since he had killed Kitty, Serapis felt as though a fog had been placed over his mind, muddling his thought patterns…and this frustrated him to no end. To top his problems, Link had outwitted him _again_! He had known the girl to have more than just healing powers, but he had never found a use for them…unfortunately, Link had.

Serapis slammed his fist into the wall to release some of his pent up rage…a dent was left in the stone. The wound inflicted to his face had healed up just fine, but it was a blow that had delivered the final strike against his dignity.

What infuriated him the most though, was the fact that the thought to fully consume the girl's powers had never once crossed his mind. How had ridding the world of one little brat it had probably forgotten about done this to him?

It was too late now, though, and he was tired of this cat and mouse game they had been playing. Regardless of the fact that his access to healing abilities would be eliminated, Serapis teleported away.

Away…to the surface world.

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'Tis an early update that I hope you enjoyed. : ) Reviewer replies have been posted so don't forget about those.  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own The Legend of Zelda. Whatever other junk is thrown in here would be mine however.


	16. To the Surface

**Chapter 16  
****To the Surface**

The lights began to flicker and Link looked at Kiani questioningly.

"It means that Serapis has left the premises and we've gotta get to the surface. If you need to talk then you can do so along the way," Kiani stated.

"We won't be traveling in shadow form?" Link asked.

"There's an exit only about a ten minute's walk from here and at this point, I'm thinkin' I need to conserve some energy anyways."

"And there's no more teleportation magic left to utilize?"

Nodin shook his head.

"Then let's go!" Fay shoved past them and confidently led the way, intent on her destination.

Everyone trailed behind her and Link and Zelda took their places at the very back.

"From what I saw on the map earlier, the closest exit is a different place than the entrance where we came in at…Getting out of this place will be wonderful," Zelda said. Of course the thought that that exit might be sealed off because only their point of entry had been uncovered never crossed either of their minds, but luckily Fay, Nodin, and Kiani knew what they were doing.

"Cut the crap and get straight to the point," Link snapped. "What is it you had to tell me?"

"I don't think I want to tell you anymore after you just pulled that attitude with me," she replied haughtily.

Link sighed, "All right, I'm sorry." Despite the love lost between the two, Link saw it as pointless to carry on a dispute at this point.

"And I'm sorry too," she stated, taking on a demeanor of solemnity much to his surprise. He didn't comment so Zelda continued. "I know it's my fault you hate me, but now I think it's time that I give you an explanation of why I did what I did."

"Go on…"

"Well, Link…the pressure was on. As princess it would never be permitted for me to even fathom the thought of marrying a commoner. I loved you Link...but in the end that love would have only led to broken hearts when my father would keep me from seeing you again and forcing me to marry someone of nobility."

"You were afraid of there being broken hearts? What do you think you did to me?" Link growled and decided against going for a nicer approach. "And let me guess, the only thing you knew to do was make me hate you. Make it look like I was the bad guy that broke off the relationship?"

"No, it's not like that. I just…I was afraid, ok?"

"Afraid of what?" Link asked, though his tone remained harsh and accusing.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone and I was afraid the truth would be what hurt most. I felt that by the fact that the love between us was better lost than stripped away just by a difference in class. And would you knock off the tough guy attitude, Link, so this discussion can be a bit more pleasant than what it is?"

"What you did hurt me and now that I know it was because you thought you had to marry some dumb rich guy, it's still not going to be easy for me to drop my feelings in regards to what happened."

"So you have to act like an egotistical jerk?" she retorted. "You weren't the only one hurt you know, I was not left out of that process."

"But the whole thing was your fault," Link pointed out. "Had you told me the truth at that time versus now, then we could have talked it over…but what do you do? You become cold and spiteful towards me. You hurt me very much…and you tore my world apart."

Zelda hesitated momentarily before speaking again. "Did I really do…that?"

"I loved you Zelda, and there was even a time we discussed what we would do should you eventually have to marry someone of the proper status. Remember?"

_She eased into the cradle of the warm embrace Link's strong arms offered as they stood on a balcony, staring up at the enchanting star-strewn night sky._

"_Zelda?" Link voiced to make sure he had her attention._

"_Yes?"_

"_With you being Princess of Hyrule and all, what would you do when you're forced to pick one of the suitors to marry?" She had noticed that he'd been a bit tense since he'd come to visit her, and now she realized he must have been contemplating this question for quite some time._

"_I'd pick you of course, regardless of what anyone wanted for me," she replied with a smile, feeling his muscles relax around her._

Zelda flinched from the impact that particular memory had on her. It was hard for her to believe she had said that…she had changed so much since her and Link's relationship had broken off six months ago.

Link still awaited Zelda's response to his statement and since Zelda had slipped off to the past for that minute or so, a silence had fallen between them.

Even distracted as they had been, Link and Zelda had kept in good pace with Fay, Nodin, and Kiani that they would've heard everything they had said. A fact Zelda picked up on as she was musing over what her answer would be…not that it mattered anyway.

"I remember that time…" she began softly. "But things were different then…"

"How were they different?"

"I was stronger then and now I am weak."

Link shook his head. "Well, what's done is done and now we have the present to contend with for the hopes of a brighter future."

Matching pace was one thing, but noticing when it was time to stop was another…and Zelda and Link stumbled right into the other three.

"No need to apologize," Kiani said quickly before they could say anything. "We've reached the exit."

They stood before a door etched from the stone and Nodin glanced at Link. "For this particular exit, Fay's strength is required. If you could do the honors then that would be great."

Link nodded and after setting his golden weapon down, to attain full usage of his hands, he grabbed the thick door handle and pulled. The door was a good bit heavier than the sword, but he managed to open it and on the other side was darkness.

"Um…that's our exit?" he asked.

"No, step inside and we'll be teleported to the outside. It was a precaution set up by Kitty in case something should happen and she was unable to get us out," Kiani explained and then he stepped through and disappeared while Fay followed.

"Come whenever you're ready, but don't take too long," Nodin told them, and then he too was swallowed up by the dark depths that stretched before them.

"Well, shall we go?" Zelda asked.

Link grabbed the sword and then her arm and pulled her through with him in response.

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Swarms of people hustling from place to place crowded the market area and in their midst stood Serapis. Had they known he was there, a chaotic panic would have fallen over them, but as Serapis would have it, they were kept completely unaware by the invisibility magic he wore over himself.

How easy it would have been for him to slaughter all of these unsuspecting victims at will without Link here to stop him. Though he would have liked to do this, his rational pulled through for the sake of his plan and he did not do so…but that didn't mean he couldn't pick off a few morsels here and there.

He teleported to just in front of an alley entrance and as an elderly lady well into her older years shuffled by, he snatched her up and quickly moved to the farthest and darkest corner the alley had to offer. The woman had been so caught off guard that she never uttered a sound as the invisible grip clutched her, and the market place was far too busy to notice the sudden disappearance of an old woman.

Not too long after, the woman emerged from the alley and drifted into the throng of people as if nothing had happened. Her grey hair was prim to perfection, plain colored dress without a single wrinkle in contrast to her skin, and hanging from her arm was a laden basket-just as she had been before. Only this time a new and sinister gleam danced across her bright eyes, betraying the masquerade should someone have taken the time to observe.

In this disguise Serapis would likely be unsuspected by who he knew was sure to follow and search for him, and with killing the old woman he was assured two things-a good meal he had already consumed and suspicion wouldn't be raised when a 'twin' popped up.

Serapis intended to lay low for long enough to make his enemies think he might have gone some place other than Hyrule…and then he would take them by surprise. It was all only a matter of time before they realized he had left the temple and made their way to the surface.

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Fresh air and a hint of sunlight was the first thing to greet them upon their arrival to the outside world. Link hurriedly released Zelda's arm when he saw there were more people there than what they had left the temple with.

The group had appeared in the cavern first used to access the temple and while alongside them stood Fay, Nodin, and Kiani, before them was a score of the Royal Guard's soldiers looking as though they'd been ready to enter the temple and scour it stone for stone.

Both parties stared at each other in bewilderment due to not having expected the other's presence…and then the erect forms of the soldiers were shoved aside as a hefty man garbed in the regalia of royalty pushed his way to the front.

He stopped when he was able to survey the ragtag team that Link and the rest made up. "Zelda!" he exclaimed happily upon seeing her.

"Father!" she exclaimed, running to give him a hug.

However, she was caught by a strong hand that caught her shoulder from the side and brought to an abrupt halt. "Why don't you wait until after you've bathed before doing that? I'm sure the king would be most appreciative." It was her nursemaid Impa of course, speaking with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she was glad to see her charge alive.

The King of Hyrule nodded in agreement to what Impa had said. "You've been gone three days now and we were going to send a portion of this lot here in to search for you. It seems as though you've traded your companions for new ones, though I'm sure all of that can be explained as well as what happened…but I think it best that we reach the castle where we can discuss things with a bit more privacy first. Just know that I have missed you my dear."

Zelda glanced down at the mess her shirt, pants, and boots had become and then at the other four. "A good clean up for all of us is definitely in order, but what is to be done of Serapis?"

"Sera-who?" the king asked, blinking in confusion.

"You mean to tell me that Hyrule has not been attacked by anything lately?"

"No, not at all. Besides all the worry over your having gone missing, everything has carried on as usual."

"Then he's gotta be up to something…" Link audibly muttered, breaking the sheepish silence they had held when faced with the king and his men.

"Let us be off then and make haste to the castle," the king said. "The sooner, the better."

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Sorry it's late, but I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Reviewer replies are posted on my homepage and…as usual I'll aim for a Sunday night update, though that could change. Welp…that's all I've got to say.  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own The Legend of Zelda; everything else just so happens to be mine though so…yeah.


	17. Market Place Mayhem

**Chapter 17  
Market Place Mayhem**

The crowd Serapis had surrounded himself with abruptly shifted to form a path down its center at the approaching sound of many hoof steps against the cobblestone. As a result, he ended up being shoved to the back.

Since he was too short to see over the tops of bobbing heads in his current form, he was reduced to peering over their shoulders and angling himself so he could catch sight of what caused such a disruption to the regular flow of the market.

Riding atop the majestic horses that trotted by were many men dressed in similar armor, well-polished to exhibit a sparkling shine. In their midst was a man that obviously had to be important, a king perhaps? And trailing behind him were those from the temple.

As he watched them in this fashion, his anger began to flare. Nodin, Fay, and Kiani wore simple clothing of a brown color and were looking pretty beat up with all of the tears and stains spread over their ensemble. The proclaimed princess was there too, cowering in her saddle as if ashamed to be presenting herself to the watchful public in such a disheveled state.

And then there was Link. His mop of shaggy blonde hair rested on his head beset with many tangles and dark circles were visible under his eyes, put there from lack of sleep. His peculiarly green attire also sported many holes and stains, most of which were blood.

Healing magic certainly worked wonders on injuries, but when it came to laundry matters, it was useless.

Serapis had to practice self-control as he stood there and surveyed them. Seeing them in the broad daylight like this, bedraggled as they were, made him angry. He had been put through so much trouble over a bunch of teenage brats and as he realized this, he fought to retain a calm outward appearance as to not estrange the people near him.

One way or the other he was determined to find a way that would eliminate their presence from the world…and then they would no longer be there to oppose him.

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Unused to such attention, Link turned a bright shade of red. He didn't understand why they had to parade through town like this. Around him Kiani, Nodin, and Fay were gazing around at all the unfamiliar faces that stared back at them; they seemed mesmerized by the current events. Then again, he imagined he'd be that way too if he'd been stuck underground for as long as they apparently had been. Speaking of being underground, Link noticed how healthy their skin looked…though it should have been even paler than Zelda's…He shrugged it off as something to do with the whole 'eternal youth' thing.

Though there were many casting questioning glances his way, there was one particular gaze that caught his attention and his blue eyes locked with theirs. It was just an old woman hovering there in the background, but something about her seemed to be a bit off…in fact, it was quite unnatural how her face was pinioned into that cold stare she gave him, like it was one used to smiling all the time instead of giving off the expression it held now. He decided however, to drop the issue. That didn't keep relief from flooding him as he veered out of sight after rounding a corner onto the castle path though.

Soon after, he found himself in the castle, assigned a room, and soaking in the luxuriously warm water of a bath while his clothes were sent off for some repair and cleaning of their own, and throughout all of this, few questions were asked. For the moment, life was treating him rather well. Without realizing he was doing so, Link drifted off to sleep.

Link awoke with a start sometime later to find that the water had gone cold and he was freezing. With a sigh he climbed out of the water, grabbed a towel and dried off, located his clothes that had been set out in his room apparently sometime during his bath time nap, and pulled his clean tunic and other garments on.

Just as he became fully dressed, there was a resounding knock on the door. Link obliged to its call and opened the door to greet whoever was on the other side. Much to his surprise, it was Kiani.

"Zelda sent me to fetch you…" he began. "She thinks it best if we were to explore around the town for anything suspicious. She's already informed the king of what has occurred. Are you up for the trip?"

Link nodded. He felt much better though he had no idea how long he'd been out and a trip around town would be pleasant…up until they found Serapis, so long as they did. "I'm definitely up to it."

"All right, I was told the others are waiting in what Zelda called the main hall. I came here from my room and have no idea how to get there…so if you would lead the way that'd be great."

Link smiled and began making his way down the hallway with Kiani beside him. "After living in a maze all these years you can't find your way around this place?"

"It's not like you were able to navigate your way around too well down there either," he replied lightly in his defense.

After a few twists and turns and traveling down several flights of stairs, they reached the main hall and were greeted by Nodin and Fay.

"Is Zelda not coming?" Link asked when he noticed her absence.

"Her father wants her to stay in the castle on lock down," Fay explained. "It's understandable though since she is your country's only heir to the throne and all."

"True. Well, I suggest we get moving then," Link said. Something felt as though it were missing, but that matter was soon cleared up when Nodin offered him a slender object wrapped tightly in a bundle of cloth. "What's this?"

"Zelda said to give it to you. She said it'd have to due for a weapon when mingling with crowds," he explained.

Link pulled away the cloth around it to reveal a sword that was in a leather sheath covered in all kinds of elaborate patterns. He quickly placed it on his back and felt a comfort knowing it was there. The sword he had borrowed from Fay was up in his room and walking around town having to hold that in his hand certainly wouldn't have been the best way to approach people. It was surprising that Zelda had given it to him, but he'd look into that matter later…for now he figured he might as well get Nodin, Fay, and Kiani used to the lay of the land while they searched out Serapis if he was still in the vicinity.

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They had not been given their old rags of brown to wear and while Fay wore a simple dress of purple, Nodin was decked out in red, and Kiani seemed to have a real liking for black. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the outfits given to them, but Link was glad Zelda hadn't plotted some sort of scheme to replace his tunic with something else.

Nodin, Fay, and Kiani reminded Link of children with the way they darted about the market examining everything. Apparently when they had lived on the surface however many years ago, things had been quite different than what they were now…which was pretty much a given.

So far there had been no sign of any activity that might have Serapis' name stamped all over it, but the best solution was to keep one's guard up…and in this case Link figured he'd have to be the one taking the brunt of that job. What was embarrassing though, was the weird stares everyone gave the three. Their strange behavior was drawing attention and some recognized them from their earlier passage through here riding with the king's men. Either they were completely oblivious to it, ignorant, or just didn't care.

Kiani was fiddling with a shield and seemed impressed by the sturdiness of it, Fay was browsing through a merchant's wares that consisted of mostly jewelry, and Nodin…was nowhere to be found. Link jumped to instant alertness and reached for the hilt of his sword…but then he found this move to be a foolish one because Nodin popped up again from behind the obscuring people that maneuvered about. He was talking to an elderly woman and placing things back into a basket she carried which brought the notion about that he must have bumped into her and caused her to drop her belongings.

What Link didn't realize until too late was that this was the same old woman that had caught his eye earlier. Too late was signified by the claws that were suddenly sunk into Nodin's throat to prevent him from screaming out an alarm, by another set sticking him through his chest, and a red light encircling his body.

"Nodin!" Fay exclaimed when her eyes were diverted to the scene by the shouts and screams of the people around her.

Link barreled through the throng and arrived just in time for Nodin's body to fall limply to the ground and the claws to retract into the woman's wrinkled skin. Kiani and Fay met him there and they turned on the woman in unison. Serapis had given himself away but he had found the price of his actions worth it.

"Looks like you couldn't stop me," he hissed before vanishing in front of the gathered sea of Hylians.

One person's keeping their guard up hadn't been enough to compensate for the rest…and now Serapis had succeeded with yet another kill.

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That chapter was insanely hard to write. o.O I apologize if there was anything dreadful contained within it. If any advice could be offered on how I could improve stuff like this, especially for future reference, I'd be very much appreciative of it. Reviewer replies are posted so make sure you check them thangs out. :D

-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: Serapis _is_ mine, that sexy monster for a stud. …Only kidding, but I really do own him, lol. Fay, Kiani, and Nodin are obviously mine too as well as the other rubbish I made up. The Legend of Zelda doesn't belong to me unfortunately though. –sigh-


	18. Suspect

**Chapter 18  
****Suspect**

Fay knelt by Nodin's unmoving form and stared at his drawn face through bright green eyes brimmed with tears. "How could we have not seen this coming?" she asked rhetorically.

The noise around them had risen in volumes with inquiries of what had happened and gossip being exchanged on the issue as well as people demanding that someone had to get help.

Link didn't say anything, but stood at the ready with his sword gripped tightly in hand; anger, frustration, and grief raged through his system and his thoughts raced unsure of how to go about the situation.

A procured medic shouldered his way through, having been summoned to the scene, and two soldiers dressed in their armored attire followed in his wake. As soon as he saw the large punctures in Nodin's throat and chest on top of all the blood that had been spilled as well as the face quickly losing its life given color, he said this loud enough to be guaranteed listening ears, "Well, this one's lost and though there's no longer anything I can do, these soldiers here would like to question you and I'd suggest doing something about that body so it doesn't create anymore of an uproar." And with that, he dispersed into the same crowd he had just fought his way through only a moment ago.

_Geez, thanks for your help… _Link thought bitterly, slightly puzzled at the man's abrupt manner.

Kiani snapped from his state of stupor once realizing that something was in need of being done, and he crouched next to Fay, placing a hand on Nodin's shoulder. Link had a feeling he knew what Kiani was up to, but it seemed as though they had involuntarily left him to handle any questions directed their way.

One of the two soldiers went to the task of shooing the crowd away and there was another one just outside the ring of people that helped him while the other of the original two targeted him with the plainspoken question of, "What happened here?"

Link stumbled over his words as he tried to come up with a more plausible explanation, turning his stance into one of a babbling teenager versus the stoic display he had aimed for. "H-he…Nodin was just…I couldn't get there in time…He was helping an old woman when…Serap--…My friend was…It just sorta, happened."

The guard blinked once. "I couldn't make head nor tails a' that, kiddo. Why don't you just start off by telling me who it is exactly that's responsible for this mess and it should get easier from there, okay?"

Following this logic, Link decided that the truth would be the best route to take…even if it would be a bit hard to believe at first.

On the ground below, Kiani had morphed Nodin's body and its blood into shadow; the dead no longer felt pain so that was not an issue anymore. This supernatural action of Kiani's however, had drawn the attention of the people that had just been sent away back to them. Therefore, Link didn't get a chance to explain as the boisterous noise dominated the atmosphere.

Along with the additional noise though, a great boom of thunder clapped and rain began to fall from the heavens as a streak of lightning tore its way across the sky.

Link jumped in surprise by this sudden change in the weather; he had failed to notice the dark clouds rolling in earlier due to being too caught up in what had happened to Nodin…Serapis could have also taken a swing at him throughout this time while his mind was too focused on other things. Luckily he hadn't, but Link made a mental note to always be aware of the subtle things in his surroundings, whether it was up in the sky…or on the earth creeping up behind him.

Everyone fled around them as the rain beat down on their heads in torrents and no longer was there a nosey crowd there to pry into business that was not theirs.

'Come, we must find a better place to talk," the soldier told Link. "All three of you and…his eyes narrowed in suspicion upon sight of the three dimensional shadow that lay in place of Nodin's body. "And you can take that along too…but I expect an explanation for whatever it was you did. If you do not comply, then I have other methods of persuasion…I'm not too fond of rain so you had better make it snappy."

The soldier signaled for the other two that had been on crowd patrol to join him, and something about this situation didn't seem to settle quite right to Link…the soldier's way of making threats and the fact that he 'wasn't too fond of rain' triggered an alarm bell within Link and the grip on his sword tightened. Kiani and Fay now stood at his side, telling him without any exchange of a word or glance that they felt it too.

As Link recalled, back in the temple Fay had mentioned that Serapis 'wasn't too fond of water' and it was this that powered the suspicions flooding his system. If it weren't for the fact that some other inner sense told him to hold back, he would have sliced the soldier apart right then and there…Well, he would have tried anyways; even in the guise of another, Serapis surely wouldn't allow himself to be taken out so easily, right?

"I don't want to be forced to take action against you, normally I'm a nice guy, but should you all choose not to cooperate, my partners and I will have no choice but to take you out," that same soldier intoned his threat to use violence again if necessary; this time though, there was almost a pleading tone hinted in his voice, as if begging them to cooperate and make things easier for both sides.

Link wasn't sure what to think when this statement registered with him. He didn't think Serapis would ever beg for anything. Maybe they were just being paranoid and overreacting and they should go with the soldier to get the situation cleared up? …Or Serapis was willing to submit his pride for such an opportunity to get at them? Then again, he hadn't needed such a complicated ploy to lure Nodin and them in…

Kiani paced on by the soldiers, his mind apparently intent on doing something other than going to wherever it was the soldiers wanted to take them. When the man closest to him made a move to snatch him back, his arms were swatted away by another person entering into the ordeal…Impa.

"I'll do the explaining on their behalf and it will be done here and now," she said and then spoke to Link, Kiani, and Fay. "If there's anything you three would like to do while we're here then do so now or head back to the castle."

Link was baffled by Impa's unexpected arrival at the scene and didn't have anything to offer in reply. He had no problem complying with her words though and both he and Fay followed Kiani to see what it was he wanted to check out.

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Serapis was drowning in misery on top of his hate for the accursed water that poured freely from the sky.

He had taken the form of a teenage boy in the range of Link's age and now resided under a small overhang in the market as he fought to retain a sense of secured dryness, and keep his eye on the three maneuvering about.

To make matters all the worse in Serapis' perspective, since he had killed Nodin, his mind had become all the more fogged up and muddled than it had before. And to think that he had thought he was finally getting over the side effects associated with Kitty's death! It was infuriating, yet somehow he was unable to work up the anger to stay motivated on his task for long.

At least all of his rational thought hadn't completely abandoned him, otherwise Serapis knew he'd probably have kept the shape of his true form and dumbly given himself away…and his goal was not to continually teleport from location to location, but to keep a watchful eye on his foes as they went about cleaning up what he had done.

Though the rain that he loathed with a fiery passion hammered down on the already soaked figures of Link, Kiani, and Fay, they went on with whatever business they were conducting totally unfazed. He shuddered at the thought of possibly becoming just as wet as they were; he had luckily managed to escape the first comings of the storm with but a few drops that had found their mark on him.

He continued boring into his surroundings through the borrowed hazel eyes he wore and peered through the numerous drops that fell, eyeing the Sheikah woman that talked with the buffoons that called themselves soldiers before his gaze went back to the other three as they continued with their circling of the market's vicinity.

He definitely had more of a reason to watch them now…they were up to something and he was sure of it. His thoughts were too jumbled up to sort out a conclusion of what exactly it was they were doing, but he did notice a puddle of water that was slowly slipping across the bumpy cobblestone surface towards him and his shelter. The building he leaned against even gave a dramatic groan as another boom of thunder bellowed out its monstrous cry and the structure shook.

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"Serapis hates water," Kiani was saying, "but he's likely to be around here somewhere just so he can keep an eye on us. There's always the chance that he might be invisible, but at this point I think he's gotten a bit too stupid to think of such a thing."

"Is there any reason in particular he doesn't like water?" Link asked, curious to know what Kiani's answer to this question would be. "And what do you mean by stupider, how would you know that?" Link was thinking back to how Serapis' intelligence level had seemed to dim following Kitty's 'disappearance'…Was he really not just imagining things when he'd thought that Serapis had gotten stupider?

Fay cast Kiani an expectant glance as if in warning him to watch what he said, making Link feel as though they'd been hiding something he'd never thought to touch upon the entire time since they'd first run into Serapis.

"For your first question, I'll give you this answer-I honestly don't know why someone like Serapis would be so afraid of water and I've never been able to understand it, but as for your second question…now's not the time for you to know the answer to that."

Fay nodded in agreement with Kiani's words. Her current state of solemnity had come with Nodin's unforeseen death and she obviously hadn't been up for much chatter in just the few moments that had passed.

_Yup, they've definitely been hiding something._

Instead of referring to that hidden secret, Link spoke of Serapis' water dilemma. "_Afraid_ of water? I thought he just hated it?"

"I'd say he's at least a little scared of it," Kiani replied smugly. "If either of you spot someone curled up somewhere in the shadows, be sure to point them out."

In truth it was hard to distinguish much out of the shadows that fell against the sides of the multiple shops, but the key to what Kiani was advising was to spot an area that would most likely be untouched by water. The market had been pretty much deserted with the storm's coming, so the good news was that there was no longer an overabundance of people to make things more complex than they needed to be.

"There, under that cloth is a boy," Fay declared, pointing her index finger to direct their eyes to see what she was seeing.

A yellow glint flashed through the darkness and it was undeniably clear that the boy was fixing them with a cold glare.

"I'd say he's our man," Kiani stated, abruptly turning his footfalls to march in that same boy's direction.

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All righty, that chapter was a pretty decent length I thought, approximately 2,000 words, so I hope every last word turned out satisfactory enough. Reviewer replies have been posted so be sure to check those out. : )  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I claim no ownership of The Legend of Zelda and all things associated with it. Serapis and all them other peeps are mine though.


	19. Ancient History

**Chapter 19  
****Ancient History**

"Wait, don't you think we should mask our approach? You know, make him think we don't know that's him?" Link asked timidly.

"It's too late now. More than likely he'll play dumb though, so be on the ready for anything he might pull," Kiani stated in response, not once halting his purposeful pace.

Link dejectedly made the same turn as Kiani had and followed him while Fay did so as well, but with a lighter air. Link didn't like this tactic of a direct advance towards their target, it would give Serapis too much time to concoct a counter strategy, but he trusted Kiani and didn't object…even if both he and Fay were and had been keeping something hidden from him.

The boy's gaze was no longer fixed on them as far as they could tell and instead, he sat with his knees tucked under his chin and scrunched tightly to his chest, shivering from the prospect of the cold rain. If this was Serapis, then he was really going to make this a difficult case to crack.

When the trio had him cornered, he merely continued on with his shenanigans…so Kiani roughly nudged him with his foot in an attempt to stimulate some sort of action that would give Serapis away. They didn't want to start beating up the wrong person after all and they certainly didn't need another helping of guilt heaped onto plates that were already fully loaded.

The boy hadn't responded to Kiani's forceful gesture and that left them unsure of what to do. Link looked into the boy's eyes, gazing wide open in terror as if he was seeing something dreadful play out before him and Link wondered what it was.

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Link's assumption about Serapis had been correct; he was indeed seeing something played out before his eyes. Though they weren't completely sure if it was him or not, Serapis had no intention of letting them find out, but they had brought him a distraction to his cause. They had brought excess water with them; fresh droplets dripped onto his skin and for this he was angry. …But at the same time, sad, because of the memories it brought with it…

_The couple had been a young one, living on the shores of Lake Hylia with a baby girl that had been born only a few days ago. Lillian they had called her and just as this Lillian was being put to bed, there was a thump right outside the front door. The father cast his spouse a glance that told her to stay where she was as he went to investigate. What he found upon opening the door though…was a basket with some sort of _creature_ inside. _

_He jumped back with a startled yelp and the wife hurried to see what the matter of concern was, bringing their child with her. Within the basket was a tiny bundle that appeared to be a black snake at first glance, but with a closer examination, she was unsure of what exactly it was. _

_It was the size of the baby she currently cradled, but instead its head strongly resembled that of a cobra while its tiny body was human-like and the whole of it was covered in glistening black scales._

"_What…is it?" her husband asked, staring at the creature with a spiteful glare._

_The creature was sleeping and a pang of motherly love flooded the woman's heart upon sight of its peaceful nature. "I'm not sure, but I think we should keep it."_

_He immediately turned on her, "What?"_

_His outraged cry not only awoke their baby, but the…'thing' residing in the basket as well. It emitted a tiny squeak and sat up, looking expectantly at them with translucent yellow eyes. _

_The mother hoped to sooth Lillian before she could start crying, but it was to no avail. Her wails pierced the fresh air and the creature there at her feet whimpered with displeasure. When she had calmed the baby down, the woman answered her husband, "You heard what I said."_

"_We don't even know what it is. What if it's a demon spawned from the fires of Hell?" he protested bitterly. "We'd be making a big mistake to take this thing in, Ileana, don't you think? And we'll already have our arms full with Lillian!" _

_The woman, now known as Ileana, knelt by the basket and the creature crawled over the side and leapt into her lap. Ileana's husband moved to jerk her away, but she stopped him with a simply word. "Don't."_

_The creature nudged her arm aside and then nestled into the crook of it next Lillian and was back to sleep in an amazingly short amount of time._

"_Ilea--..."_

"_I think this is a sign that we should keep it," she said with the hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips._

_Her husband looked around with the hopes that someone might be around that could have left this strange 'gift' on their doorstep. He felt defeated when spying no one and sighed heavily, "Fine, but how do we know if it's a baby or not? What if it's some sort of monster waiting to attack us when we let our guard down?"_

"_Only time will tell," Ileana replied. She was determined to keep the creature regardless at this point. "We're so isolated out here that there would never be anyone to nose into our business and persecute him for being different."_

"_Oh, so it's no longer an 'it', huh?" he sneered._

"_And his name will be Serapis," she want on, ignoring this comment. She stood and carried the two inside and her husband followed, dragging his feet along the earthen floor. "Besides, Daryl, don't be such a pessimist."_

"_He's going to murder us and our baby in our sleep tonight, I just know he is," Daryl muttered._

_Contrary to Daryl's belief though, the creature given the name Serapis did not murder anyone that night, or any other night in that house. _

_Several years passed and just as their daughter did, Serapis aged and grew. Lillian and he both got along rather well and Daryl even became attached to their adopted child. Come Serapis' reaching the estimated age of ten, he had become what resembled a very scrawny little boy and was quite likeable, despite his abnormalities. _

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_As far as that same ten year old Serapis knew, he wasn't like anyone else in the world. He considered the three people around him to be family, yes, but he was smart enough to know that the two he called father and mother were not his real parents and Lillian not his real sister. _

_There had even been a time when he'd overheard his so-called parents discussing where it was he could have come from. They certainly didn't know so it was likely his point of origin would forever remain a mystery, even to himself._

_Outside of his family, he had never seen anybody else, but he knew there were others out there like the flesh covered members he lived with because once every month his father would go to a village a little while away from where they were to get supplies like food and such and have to do dealings with them. Serapis had never outwardly questioned his father's not wanting him to go with him, but it was something he had often wondered about. Sure he was different, but what did that matter?_

_Suddenly Lillian came barreling past him clothed in just her undergarments as she eagerly ran to play in the chilly waters of the lake. Serapis cocked his head in a smile and although he normally would have loved to join her, he felt he should check if any help was needed around the house first. _

_As he climbed the slope to get to their home, he felt a light sprinkle of rain pelt his scales and cast a glance up at the dark clouds dominating the sky. As long as it didn't get any worse than this, Lillian would be fine for a while. _

_He loved the rain and enjoyed the mist that showered him as he entered their humble abode. His mother, Ileana, was hard at work patching up some holes he had accidentally torn in a shirt. Sometimes the claws at the end of his hands, and occasionally feet as well, could become a bit of a nuisance even blunt as they were. _

"_Is there anything you would like me to do?" he asked her. His own voice reminded him of a snake, but then again…his head did too. _

"_Oh yes, if you could--…" she began but never did have a chance to finish._

_A big boom of thunder rolled out and a flash of lightning lit their surroundings with a great intensity of light. What had previously been a light sprinkle of rain now became a downpour. _

_His father arrived through the door at that moment as well, abruptly declaring, "This storm certainly looks like it'll be a big one, worse than any I've ever seen before."_

_Ileana looked around the small room, seeing Serapis and Daryl, but someone was missing. "Where's Lillian?" she asked._

"_She must still be outside!" Serapis exclaimed and he charged for the door, but Ileana and Daryl beat him to it and were already rushing into the harsh elements. With this slight delay, Serapis got outside in time to see Lillian swimming frantically to shore with her little arms pumping. Daryl dived in to help her._

_Serapis was nearly knocked down the hill by a ferociously strong wind that had picked up and had to fight to make it to Ileana's side where she stood at the lakeshore. _

_The lake was thrashing about wildly and behemoths of water were seen spouting up around the two figures that were held within its stronghold. Daryl was able to reach Lillian and pull the struggling child into his grasp, but it appeared as though he couldn't find the energy to make it back to land. _

_Serapis fought the urge to go in there after them, helped by the logic that it wouldn't be of any good to them or him. He could only watch with pure horror as a wave of surprising size for the lake came up and swept over Lillian and Daryl, pulling them under. For what felt like an eternity, he and his mother waited there, only to be rewarded by no sighting of them. _

_Another wave, just as big as the one Daryl and Lillian had been lost to, was forming and Serapis' brain reacted swiftly. A hidden instinct told them that they were not safe standing on the shore as they were…they had to get away. He grabbed Ileana's hand and made to drag her behind him, but his grip failed when she shrieked. His hand had been returned to him and on it he had a brief glimpse of blood before the driving rain washed it away. _

_He turned to find his mother and saw her clutching her hand. He must have cut into it with his claws…And before he could make another, much more careful, grab to pull her out of harms way, the wave crashed to shore and Ileana was pulled in. _

_He yelled something incomprehensible before that same wave reached him and snatched him in its vicious wake. His nose and mouth were instantly filled with water and he could no longer tell what direction the surface lay in. _

_It wasn't long before he could feel the enveloping liquid suffocating his lungs, squeezing what little air might have been left from the first onslaught out of them. For a long time his small body was tossed about underwater and he passed in and out of consciousness, his will to survive stronger than anything the forces of nature could throw at him._

_Finally, the raging around him was subdued to a calm tranquility and Serapis found himself ashore, coughing and gagging on the water that had flooded his system. When he had recovered enough to move from throwing up, his gaze fell all around him, hoping to spot the rest of his family…there was no one._

_He even got up and walked around, checked their house, checked everywhere. Still, there was no one. Though the storm had calmed, especially the wind, there was still a bout of rain falling. He lost hope in finding his family and not bothering to take with him any of his belongings, he set off to the world beyond and left the lake and his home behind._

_He could still remember that awful choking feeling the water had given him, the same water that had stolen his family. He no longer loved the feeling of rain on scale, he hated it. Hated it with a fiery passion that soon turned to fear as he realized it was only by pure determination and luck that he had lived through it._

_He had never felt any emotion like hate before though, and it flooded his system with just as much force as the water had. It wasn't long before this hate diverted its attention from the water to his family for leaving him. As time passed and he entered the next area inhabited by people, this hate soon grew even more._

_The people were mean, calling him names, drawing arms against him to ward him away, and succeeding. He traveled on with no purpose in mind, simply trying to get away from his past, and as he traveled on his body grew and adapted to be one of great strength to fight off the people that hurt him, that called him hurtful things…that hated him for being different…or 'demonic' as they liked to put it._

_His hate for them led to his first kill, and then his first feast upon human flesh…and then his thirst for power. With power he could be the one in control, the one that could be in charge of whose life was taken away. In order to obtain power though, he would first have to dominate the world and the best way to do so would be to wreak destruction on its inhabitants…_

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Serapis snapped away from these long forgotten memories and realized that he had been left alone. Link, Kiani, and Fay all had their backs to him and were walking away. That same hate he had always carried deep within his heart sparked anew when he realized that it was them contributing to his inability to gain the power he so desired. And it was them that had turned their backs to him…leaving him the perfect opportunity for him to attack.

Transforming into his true form, Serapis charged…swiftly, silently, and with ill intentions sustained by a clouded mind.

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Wow…that chapter turned out _way_ longer than what I intended it to be. And the sad thing is I only had a _very_ tiny bit written by this morning…and by late this afternoon, I had all this. o.O Oh well, that's a happy Labor Day for ya. :D As you can see the main focus kinda shifted to Serapis for a bit, so I hope it wasn't a turn off. Reviewer replies have been posted and…that's all.  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own The Legend of Zelda. Serapis and those other people I made up would still be mine though…with a few obvious additions to the list.


	20. Cleared

**Chapter 20  
****Cleared**

Link had the sudden impulse to duck and he did so in the nick of time.

Claws, which he already connected to Serapis being the attacker, swiped the air above his newly acquired position. Although he was able to avoid this 'aerial' attack, it did not save him from being tackled by the rest of Serapis.

He was catapulted to the ground where he hit his head on the rough cobblestone. He hadn't hit hard enough to do any real damage, but through the dizziness that washed over him he could see that Fay and Kiani had received a portion of that same blow and lay sprawled on the ground next to him.

Link decided to get up quickly in case Serapis chose to succeed this first attack with another. Surprisingly, he was nowhere to be found.

Kiani rose and helped a sluggish Fay back onto her feet as she held one hand to her temple with her mouth forming around the sound of a soft moan.

"Where'd he go?" Link asked; he was prepared for anything with his sword unsheathed and in hand.

"Either he really is gone or he's still got enough common sense left to tap into the invisibility power he stole from Kitty," Kiani said.

"Care to explain--…" Link began, his curiosity pertaining to Serapis' noticeable rise in stupidity piqued once again…but he never did get to finish because something slammed into his chest and sent him flying. Serapis flickered into his view point just before he crashed backwards into a market stall.

"Get away from here Fay!" Kiani sharply ordered his friend.

She nodded in unhesitant resignation and made to run when Serapis' swatted her back onto the ground. Before he could grab her however and finish what he intended to do with her, a blinding flash lit up the area and he reeled back.

When the light faded, Impa was there and so were all three of the soldiers. "Here's your proof," she told them matter-of-factly.

Fay crawled while shaking from fear at her close brush with death, regardless of having been through a similar situation before, and did not stand until reaching beyond the defenses the three new arrivals. Kiani took advantage of momentary confusion and launched several shadow balls his way.

Serapis recovered quickly from his brief period of blindness and twisted aside just in time to avoid what would have more than likely been a harmless attack anyways. Link on the other hand fought the pain pounding in his chest and came charging from the mess his crash had made.

The three soldiers quivered in fear but stood their ground even when Serapis turned to them, unaware of the green-clothed boy barreling towards him. Impa faced Serapis with an unwavering boldness and through one miniscule error, a shuriken she threw missed his eye and landed just a little ways above it.

Since the soldiers had rooted themselves to the spot, Serapis was set to raise hell, Link wasn't quite fast enough, and Impa and Kiani were unable to stop him, blood spurted out everywhere and three armor-encased heads followed by their bodies plopped simultaneously to the ground. It was following this action that the blood lust left Serapis and he realized that it was still raining.

He roared in anger and each droplet felt like a stinging blow to his mind as it hit, and it didn't help his situation when Link 'struck gold' by hitting a weak spot on Serapis' back and maneuvered the sword deeper and swiveled it around to mess with his insides a bit.

Kiani morphed into shadow and was lost from view for an instant before joining Link at his side and launching shadow balls at the newly formed opening, spreading the wound wider all in just a mere second.

Serapis whipped around and Link was jerked sideways with the sword, accidentally hitting Kiani on the way, and whiplash stunned him when Serapis halted and Link fell to the ground, amazed that his grasp had retained through that.

Kiani had morphed his hand so that it resembled a black basin of some sort and water collected in it quickly. Serapis ignored those now behind him and lashed out at what he thought would be an easy target. However, he was stopped dead in his tracks when Kiani emptied the excess water he had acquired onto Serapis.

Serapis responded to this by turning heels and darting the other way. In his path was Link, who still remained lying on the ground in a stunned fashion and had he not been running so fast he would have crushed Link's ribs versus the heavy bruising that he only accomplished. He brushed Impa aside as though she were nothing and stabbed through Fay sideways before vanishing as though he was never there.

"We must get back to the castle and report. There's no telling how long this storm will last or even how long we will reside in peace before that monster attacks again," Impa stated smartly, attempting to hide her heavy breathing derived from the short-lived, but harsh, beating Serapis had delivered her upon his exit.

Blood flowed heavily down Fay's arm and Serapis' claws had been long enough to puncture straight through not only that, but into her body. She was in need of some medical assistance, that was for sure.

Link gasped and struggled to get up. Kiani switched back to his human form and pulled him up with ease. Neither cast a glance at the beheaded form of the fallen soldiers and they all heeded Impa's advice and made their way by as fast as possible in the castle's general direction.

_It would seem as though he's resorted to stealing my sword instead of breaking it this time… _Link thought bitterly as he staggered along trying to stay upright.

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Serapis' last actions didn't even make sense to him. Why did memories from a past he had thought long forgotten plague him to be _afraid _of water as he was? It was pathetic.

He yanked the sword at a fountain of blood's source from his back and threw it aside, attempting to heal himself with the snooty princess' healing ability.

He was rewarded by nothing happening.

Serapis growled in agitation and tried again.

Still, nothing happened.

Serapis hissed angrily and slapped mud over the wound to ensure that the blood flow would cease. He had known when coming to the surface world that he would seal off this excellent resource without the princess in close vicinity, but when he had been able to shapeshift without Kiani being nearby, it had given him the false hope that he could still have access to the healing art.

Now he was mad that he had been proven wrong…and also baffled by how he could do one thing that would require the power source to be there, but not another.

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Fay winced as the finishing touches were administered to her arm and Kiani sat nearby, watching her patiently as Impa bound her up. Link lay on a bed trying to remain still and Princess Zelda was supposedly off on other affairs so they would simply have to heal the old fashion way for the time being.

"There's things you need to tell me," Link stated coolly in Kiani's direction. "You know something about Serapis that the rest of us don't and you're keeping it a secret, why?"

"Because I haven't confirmed this thought of mine yet," was Kiani's simple reply.

"Why not start with the basics and maybe I'll catch on and see what you have in mind." Link wasn't in a mood for anything but the truth.

"All done," Impa said. "I'll leave you three alone now." With that, she left the room and they were indeed left by themselves.

"Are you going to fill him in?" Fay asked Kiani. She seemed slightly worried by this new turn in events.

"No, not yet. It would be foolish to start sharing my assumptions now," Kiani explained. "However Link, if anyone should die make sure it's not you."

"Why am I so vital to our success?" he asked.

"Because, you're the one who's going to have to stop Serapis in the end."

Sure that was what Link wanted, but to hear Kiani say that as if he was spelling out his own death jolted Link upright despite the protesting of his sore body. "What? What do you mean? You'll be there too, so will Fay. No one else is going to die so why is it up to me alone?"

Kiani shook his head. "My powers are useless against Serapis and you know it. Fay no longer has her powers so what good does that do us? It will be you. It has to be you if my theory proves to be correct."

"Then why don't you share this 'theory' of yours so I have an idea where you're coming from with this?" Link queried, hoping to pry some more information from this close-lipped interviewee.

"Not gonna happen…Not yet anyways."

Link sighed in frustration and dropped back, hoping to relax his throbbing midsection and went on as if there were no secret being kept. His chest hurt a bit too, but it was at a more tolerable stage. "Serapis could easily just teleport in here and kill every last one of us when we least expected it. Why doesn't he?"

"He's too stupid. I wouldn't be surprised if he is eventually reduced to the likes of an animal completely," Kiani said, purposely choosing not to elaborate even more.

Link didn't understand what Kiani was gaining by keeping something secret at this point, so it was certainly an annoyance that ceased to go away. Maybe he could ask Zelda to talk to Fay…See if she knew anything.

Speaking of Zelda, she happened to enter right at that moment.

"I heard about what took place…" she said softly. "I'm sorry about Nodin…"

Kiani nodded in acknowledgement but didn't say anything.

"If the three of you are able, I'd like you to come with me," she added.

Kiani was first up, being unharmed and perfectly able, and Fay joined him. Link found himself unable to pull another of his previous moves and had to roll off to the side of the bed before able to place his feet on the floor and stand. It would have probably been an embarrassing action had he bothered to care.

Once that was all done, the three followed Zelda to their unknown destination. Link noted that she didn't bother to offer using a healing spell and wondered what she had in mind.

Hopefully, it would be worth getting through a bout of soreness to deal with.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rain had stopped completely and the last signs of a storm were beginning to fade away. Though the earth squelched beneath his paws in its state of fresh, despicable, wetness, Serapis walked along out in the open. He felt more jovial due to the fog having completely vanished from his mind.

Serapis didn't understand what had cleared his mind, but he was simply glad to be free. Now he had blood to spill and vengeance to seek.

Being unable to heal himself could always become a problem, but he was confident that with his carefully planned strategy nothing would stop him, not even Link; especially since his mind had been freed from the accursed spell that had previously befallen it.

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I guess this chapter was a bit anticlimactic compared to the last one, or maybe it's just me, but filler chapters are needed and that's what I'm categorizing this as…even though it did have some 'action' at the beginning. I'll get to some more 'good' stuff soon hopefully and I hope this chapter wasn't disappointing in any aspect.

This story has actually gone on a lot longer than what I originally planned for it, so I'm hopin' I can start winding it down to the ending soon. I used to despise this fic but now I've realized how much I love writing it…and I've become too attached to Serapis, lol. Welp, something will come about either way. Reviewer replies have been posted for those that chose to review last chapter.  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I don't own The Legend of Zelda.


	21. Encroachment

**Chapter 21  
****Encroachment**

"Take your pick," Zelda said, stepping out of the way and indicating a room stocked full with weapons of all types.

Link gave her a surprised look at this unexpected offer. Many of the armaments the armory contained were coated in gold or made up of some of the finest and strongest metal found in Hyrule, or so he assumed. It certainly was a noble gift having immense value, so he simply stood there dumbfounded as Fay and Kiani strolled around unabashed by the enormity of her offering.

Fay immediately went for a sword and attached the sheath around her hips with a leather strap. Kiani was clearly unused to any particular weapon so he took a bit more time before selecting a lance that was nearly as tall as he was and a strange glint sparked in his eyes as if he had more in mind for it than what your everyday lance could accomplish.

"I was talking to you too," she told Link. "I would think it imperative at this point to be well-armed."

Link replied with silence and a movement to grab a sword he had been eyeing. It was much nicer than what Zelda had bestowed upon him earlier, but that was certainly for the best since that one was no longer in his possession. The sword consisted of a black hilt that included an emerald pommel, and the silver sheen of the actual metal shimmered in the light. Following this, he picked up a bow and arrow set made from a smoothly carved reddish-hued wood with the arrow points tipped in metal and the ends feathered with pinions of gold and silver.

"A meal should be ready for us by now, so if you want to eat follow me," Zelda stated upon seeing that everyone had picked a weapon or two they were satisfied with.

"I'd prefer to get back to my room for a bit," Link said. "Would that be ok?"

"Of course, I'll arrange for a plate to be sent up to you," Zelda answered curtly.

Link nodded his thanks and staggered on out of the room with his weapons in tow. The aches of his body had quelled somewhat so the pain was not on an extreme measure, but he felt more time for relaxation and thinking was called for.

Fay and Kiani had wanted to go with Zelda, so Link was left to make it back to his quarters unaccompanied. As long as nothing went too far astray, the trip would be manageable enough.

Once there, Link placed the weapons next to the golden sword propped against the wall and slipped off the silver gauntlets, placing them there as well. He fell back into the bed's comforting embrace and allowed his muscles to relax into the folds of cloth as his mind wandered over recent events.

How could everything have become so chaotic? People had lost their lives and there wasn't a thing he could do about it except kill the cause of this atrocity.

Serapis had certainly been a frightening specimen to deal with in the beginning, but now Link had no reason to fear him. Sure he had some incredible strength to back that strange appearance, but Link had more confidence in himself seeing as how that oversized humanoid snake was currently lacking quite a bit in the brain-department. Now the problem was simply how to put him in his place once and for all so that Hyrule could live without fear of a doomsday in their near future.

So long as Serapis' adapting rate didn't make any sort of rapid increase, Link felt he could stay on top of things.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Speaking of Serapis, he was currently taking on the task of breaking into the castle. It was here he was sure they would be and it was here he planned to end the lives of his enemies.

Cloaking himself with the invisibility magic he possessed, he discreetly took out several guards and disposed of their bodies without incident. Taking the initiative not to give his approach away just yet, he decided to take the easy way in and teleport.

When he reappeared however, the invisibility failed and a maid was there to see his arrival. Her life was immediately cut short when she breathed the first echoes of a scream.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That first part of the scream however, had been picked up by the ears of Link due to Serapis having appeared in the hallway his room was located on and he leapt to his feet in a rush. His suspicions were aroused and it would take more than a bunch of aches and pains to keep him from finding out what was up.

He quickly slipped on the gauntlets back on and loaded the spare sword and bow and arrow set onto his back. Taking the sword that had once belonged to Fay, he crept towards the door and listened for anymore sounds that might give away the presence of someone who shouldn't be there. He jumped when there was a knock simultaneous with his grabbing the knob.

He jerked it open to see who was there with the sword ready…It was one of the castle maids, a young one at that.

"Can I help you?" he asked her, lowering his sword hand somewhat knowing full well that it wouldn't do much good to freak out the maid.

"I'm here to do some cleaning," she replied seriously and stepped right on past him.

He grabbed her arm in turn, "Wait, I need to answer one quick question. I heard a scream, what was that all about?"

"I saw a mouse and it startled me; that's all," she blatantly stated.

Link released her without thinking of the fact that his room was already clean and made to step out into the hall when he nearly collided with another maid; only this one came bearing a tray of food and was much older with outfit prepared to perfection.

"Oh, excuse me. Princess Zelda sent me to deliver this to you," she said with a slight dip in representation of a curtsey. She weaved around him and set the tray on the bed stand, and when noticing the other maid became angry. "What are you doing here, Marcy? I thought you were on your way to clean the princess' room."

"I'll get to that momentarily. I simply thought Sir Link here would like a clean room," she replied snidely.

"It looks clean enough now let's go," the woman said sharply. "And in case you've forgotten, you don't talk to me that way little missy. The last thing you need is to be caught gallivanting with some young boy…_again_," the woman berated Marcy and proceeded to grab the girl's wrist. However, she was stopped.

Taking her wrist, Marcy snapped it backwards and shoved the older woman backwards so hard that she crashed into Link, the two of them tumbled to the ground, rolled out into the hallway, and the golden blade slipped from Link's grasp in the process.

Link knew this had been intentionally done to slow his reaction time to the sudden display of violence and once he was able to untangle himself, he charged back into the room and snatched up his sword on the way in.

'Marcy' stood there with an unreadable expression adorning her face and Link was surprised Serapis wasn't standing there in his true form instead.

"What is it you want, Serapis?" Link snarled.

"Well, aren't you a clever boy?" he sneered in response. "What I want should have been made clear to you by now."

Link made to bring his sword up to neck level, but Serapis vanished before such an action could be executed and then reappeared behind Link having finally returned to his original form. Link's instincts were the only thing that saved him from being cleaved in two, but even so Serapis' claws left jagged tears across his back when he dove forward.

Link's body still suffered from soreness and with the addition of the wounds to his back, he had to fight for ignorance of the pain as he tucked into a roll and hopped onto the bed before doing a turn-about to face his opponent.

"Weren't you ever taught not to jump on the furniture?" Serapis replied crudely, lunging at him.

"My parents weren't alive to teach me," Link retorted, using the bed's springiness to add momentum to his dodge.

Serapis crashed into the headboard and there was a splintering crack as it snapped in half. Link couldn't help but laugh at his adversary, though this laugh was ultimately short-lived when Serapis grabbed the remnant of the wood and brought it down on his head.

Link went out instantly and his body crumbled limply to the floor.

"Funny how you can sustain so much damage yet not a pathetic blow such as that," Serapis stated icily, moving to retrieve his prey. "Foolish boy, you never should have defied me."

"Stop right there, Serapis," Kiani ordered from the doorway. He was backed by Fay and Impa, all of them ready for a fight.

Serapis disregarded his words though he was slightly peeved that his victory was being interrupted as it was.

Impa dashed in with amazing agility and reached Link before Serapis did. This was an action that could not be ignored however, and Serapis was not about to let her get away with her burden before he could kill the boy. He was certainly surprised by the next blow that hit him when he strove to attack Impa.

Emitting a jarring roar of pain, Serapis' eyes fell to the lance that had pierced straight through the arm he had been prepared to strike with just below the elbow; shadows laced up and down it.

"A channeling agent, how clever," he gritted out before shaking away the hands that held the handle.

Impa took the opportunity presented to her and nimbly hefted Link onto her shoulder and navigated her way back out of the room.

Serapis of course, tried to go after her despite the object protruding from his arm. Kiani was able to grab the handle as Serapis bounded on by and stopped him in his tracks through extra strength aided from the shadow energy that weaved around the lance and currently the whole arm it had transacted damage to.

"It would be wise not to get in my way," Serapis threatened, but Kiani did not budge.

"I'm not afraid of you nor have I ever been," Kiani replied and yanked his weapon free with the addition of a minor blood shower.

Serapis failed at nailing a direct stab so he roughly shoved him aside instead. He was too concerned with getting his hands on the unconscious Link and finishing the job he had almost completed so he didn't bother 'wasting' his time on Kiani since he was being too difficult.

Fay barred his way with her sword however. There was a feral look in her eyes as she faced Serapis. She reacted swiftly to his reaching her and stabbed the wound Kiani had inflicted with her blade, tearing it open all the more. Serapis hammered her with a quick series of stabs to cut down this obstacle and bypassed her fallen form to get to the hallway. The Sheikah he was after was nowhere in sight so he regained his invisibility and barreled down the hallway to the right and around the corner.

As soon as she sensed his presence no longer in the vicinity, Impa emerged from a hiding place just to the left of the doorway and stepped over Fay and placed Link on the bed, brushing aside wood chips before doing so.

Link came to when Impa fetched a basin of water from the adjoining bathroom and splashed it on his face. He immediately jolted upright, glancing about frantically. "Where's Serapis?" he sharply demanded.

"He's roaming around the castle looking for you," Kiani said. "We have to move."

Link stood and streaks of blood were left on the bed in his place but he paid it no attention and hurried forward, only to stop when he saw the blood soaked body of Fay lying across the floor. Large holes bedecked her body where Serapis' claws had left their mark.

"She's dead, there's no use checking for any vital signs," Kiani stated gruffly, pushing Link forward so that he stumbled over the body and into the hallway.

"Why are you being so…so cold?" Link asked, a chill creeping through his being at the thought of having lost another person to Serapis' wrath.

"She had to die; this was the easiest way and she knew that. Now if you don't want more to join her then we have to go," Kiani's eyes were watery and Link realized then how much it pained him to walk away from Fay like that. "If anything, we have to kill Serapis for her; Nodin and Kitty too of course."

"Right, but first I want an explanation. I don't see any reason you can't tell me what you know at this point. Why was she allowed to fight and why did she have to die?" Link growled. "I want answers and I want them _now_."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I'm sorry this chapter got out late. School is consuming a huge portion of my life right now…And I'm sick so I am currently not a very happy person. It's just a cold, but still, that can mean ultimate misery when you go through a whole box of Kleenex in one day. :( Reviewer replies have been posted so check 'em out if ya want.  
-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own The Legend of Zelda. Serapis is mine though, as well as the Guardians and my other OCs and everything else I made up.


	22. Reasoning

_All right. I'm incredibly sorry about the nine month waiting period for an update to this fic for those of you still with me but without going into too much detail, there were just too many things that got in my way…mostly it was school though. Since it has been so long…_

**Last time in GoL:** (_Lame thing to call this, I know, lol. I stink at summaries so please forgive me if this doesn't make sense or even cover all the important parts of last chapter…) _Serapis has invaded the castle and gotten his smarts back, for the time being that is, and Princess Zelda has allowed Link, Fay, and Kiani to pick out weapons from the castle armory. Kiani finds a way to channel his power through the lance he selects to deal out some damage to Serapis and it turns out that that 'loveable' humanoid snake of mine is out to get Link of all people. Anyways, Impa saves Link in the nick of time and Fay gets killed and after hiding Link away just outside the room, Serapis dashes off into the castle to hunt him down. Kiani seems upset that Fay is dead but he claims that she had to die and it was the easiest way. Link's suspicions are aroused and he wants answers… as the two go off determined to kill Serapis.

**Chapter 22  
****Reasoning**

"Now before I tell you this, just know that the only reason I didn't before is simply because I didn't want you to take the initiative into your own hands," Kiani began as they moved quickly down the hallway.

"Continue please," Link snapped impatiently. They didn't have time for idle talk.

"The four of us, we didn't always have our powers…and it's my fault we do. Kitty was fatally ill and I was tricked, by Serapis himself no less, into believing that by breaking the seal on his tomb she would be healed. Well, she was healed all right, but these powers of ours cursed us when I broke the seal. There were three spirits, a woman, a man, and a young girl set to guard the tomb that had warned me, but…anyways, I didn't run into Serapis physically at the time and I ran back to our village. I found that none of us could control our powers and we…destroyed the whole village There wasn't a sole survivor outside of us four…" Kiani sighed heavily. "And the only reason I think these powers found their way to them was because of how close they were to me. Kitty was my sister of course, but Nodin and Fay…they were like family. Orphaned like us, we all met and became close friends."

"So that's why you've been so hesitant to speak of your powers, you hurt the people you loved?"

"Yes…but that's not all. Somehow I think these powers have linked us to Serapis and because we've lived in such close quarters to him for so many years that bond has only gotten stronger and Serapis has managed to channel it, whether this was planned on his part or not, so that he adapts and gets stronger and we're left the same..."

"But there are strings attached and since the bond is so strong…"

"It stupefies him enough to give _you _a chance," Kiani finished.

"Me? Why just me? What about you?"

"I have to die so that you can finish him off."0

"No," Link said firmly. "If the conclusion you thought I would jump to is killing you myself, then you were wrong. You can't just give up like this because there's just gotta be a way to stop him. Enough people have died already and I won't let it happen again," Link snapped. "I can stop him…_We_ can stop him…as he is now."

"No _we _can't. If we attack him now he's bound to just teleport away so he can recover. When he attacks is when we fight back. He's the one in control. With me gone he won't have enough common sense to be of any use for himself," Kiani argued.

A terrifying roar echoed through the castle corridors and startled the two as it reached them. "He's after me. If I can distract him you can dole out some serious damage," Link said jumping up. "And don't purposely try to get yourself killed. I may just happen to interfere and take your place."

Kiani glared at him, "You'd sacrifice yourself to keep me alive for what purpose? My time to die is now! What kind of life would I have anyway, living forever young amidst an aging world, if it even lasts that long? You fool, don't stop my death. Let me die, you have to live."

"I don't have to do anything."

"Listen to me," Kiani pleaded. "We were unable to kill Serapis in that time long ago and that's why he was locked up. We were all still alive and though our unknown bond was weak with him at the time it was enough to keep him alive as well. Now's _your _chance to actually kill him. I'm going to die one way or another and you had better not stop me. I'll be sure to give Serapis a lot to think about before I go though."

Link fell silent and then dashed ahead as they rounded to a flight of stairs. He slid down the banister to cover the distance faster and Kiani followed suit with lance in hand, unsure of what was going through his new found…friend's…head.

It was when he reached the rail's end that he slid off and wound up crashing into Link who had happened to stop right there.

Link climbed back to his feet and yanked Kiani up. "What was that all about?" Kiani asked.

"You mentioned before that Serapis has been able to channel the bond you all shared to strengthen himself but that you all stayed the same. Have you ever fully tested that theory?" Link replied.

"Well no, but I certainly haven't felt any different since I got control of my power."

"Serapis can shapeshift into other forms, not just shadow. Transform into me."

"What--?" Kiani froze, completely stunned at this order.

"Seriously, try it."

Kiani rolled his eyes and shifted into his shadow form.

"Now shift into me," Link said. "You need to have confidence in yourself."

"Yeah, right," Kiani said sarcastically.

"Just do it."

The two stood there facing each other for a few moments when to the astonishment of one and the expectancy of another, Kiani gradually took Link's form.

"I don't believe it…" Kiani muttered, staring at the gauntleted hands and green tunic he now wore.

The real Link smirked, "I think you've had it this whole time. Now that we know of its existence though, we'll make some good use of it."

"Hate to rain on your bright idea, but this still only proves my other theory to be even more true. I have to die and you have to be the one to kill Serapis. Only you seem capable of doing it once the last of the Guardians is gone."

"I understand," Link said calmly. Anger no longer radiated from him with this suggestion. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, let's go," Kiani shifted back to his human form and took off towards the racket that could only be Serapis.

It was around the next corner that they found him, cornering a terrified maid and surprisingly asking her if she knew the whereabouts of Link instead of eating her. Since he hadn't noticed them yet, Link and Kiani dodged to the side of the room's door to make a plan of attack.

"He's too desperate to find me so he must know what you've pieced together. If you're going to get yourself killed then you're gonna have to be crafty about it," Link whispered.

"Don't worry, I got it all under control. Before we go in there though, I want you to take this," Kiani took Link's right hand and placed a crystalline object in it.

"What's…this?" he asked.

"It has power from Kitty, Nodin, Fay, and me inside. When I directed my power through this lance, it was able to pierce straight through his arm. I want you to do us all a favor and save it for the finishing blow. Channel the power through your sword and be sure to nail his heart."

Link nodded with an air of determination and placed the gem in his pocket. "Let's do this," and the two barged into the room with weapons poised to strike.

They did so in the nick of time too, the next thing the maid knew, she was being shoved out of the room by Kiani before Serapis could vent his frustration out on her. She needed no further encouragement and fled immediately after that.

"Well, it seems I don't have to find you after all," Serapis sneered.

"Well, it seems that you've unfortunately regained your senses," Kiani retorted.

"It's Link I want, your death will have to wait," Serapis said ignoring his last statement.

Link spent no time dealing words with their adversary and charged. Serapis twisted aside and kicked up with his foot, thus delivering a large gash across Link's side. Link however, did not let it get the better of him and took advantage of the fact that Serapis wasn't planted firmly on the floor and stabbed his sword in the opposite foot so that the humanoid snake lost his footing completely and landed with a thunderous crash on the ground.

Kiani made a move to attack with his lance but was stopped by the sound of a splintering crack. The three combatants froze when suddenly with Link's thought, '_Geez, what is this? The only room in the entire castle with wood floor?'_, chunks of the floor gave way and they fell through with it.

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Sorry again about the wait. I intend to update next Sunday night unless some event occurs that keeps me from doing so. Right now inspiration doesn't seem too hard for me to come by thanks to my finding _Star Fox Assault _to be such an awesome game.

This fic is definitely drawing to a close and I'm sorry that this chapter was so short, but hopefully it was…decent and made sense… I didn't post reviewer replies for the last chapter simply because it was too long ago, but it will continue on with this chapter…so long as there are people still with me after this long wait so…feel free to review if'n ya feel like it.

-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own The Legend of Zelda…Kiani, Serapis, etc. (as in any other OCs in this fic) happen to be mine though. How exciting. –cough-


	23. Duplicates

**Chapter 23  
****Duplicates**

Link hit with a loud smack on the stonework below. He quickly rolled aside and to his feet in order to avoid becoming a pancake as Serapis's large form fell where he had been mere moments ago.

As the dust settled Link took a quick skim over their surroundings. The were in the main hall, a room three times as big as that upstairs one they'd been in.

Serapis leapt up looking completely befuddled. Standing next to Link was well, Link. Kiani had taken advantage of the confusion and morphed.

"What trickery is…this?" Serapis spoke hesitantly, unsure of what vantage to take on this new situation as the two Links approached with identical weapons drawn, both seeming to know the same unspoken plan.

"Can't handle your own game?" said one of the Links tauntingly.

"Pretty pathetic if you ask me," said the other.

And the two boys advanced on him gradually before breaking out into a cautious charge.

Serapis watched them carefully; he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to kill Kiani. Well, he certainly _wanted_ to kill Kiani but the logic he had pieced together persuaded him not to. He would have to outsmart them and find a flaw, something his former dimwitted self would not have thought up. Serapis shuddered; he did not want to return to that foggy state of mind.

The real Link studied Serapis with interest. It was clear the monstrosity was lost in thought over something, and that something he assumed was what to do…and how to avoid killing Kiani. With this thought in mind, he prepared to attack with confidence.

However, Serapis had a surprise in store for them. Before Link could react, Serapis lashed out and each clawed hand held their heads in a vice grip, though not quite strong enough to crush their skulls…yet.

'_What if…he can sense Kiani's power?' _The horrific thought suddenly popped into Link's head. If Serapis could sense his power, then he would suck him dry…_without_ killing him.

Much to his…somewhat…relief, Serapis didn't seem to take note of anything and flung the two in opposite directions against two different stone walls. Link's back felt as if it had been snapped in two as it collided with the wall. Thinking of the sword he had lost in the temple, Link knew it was very much a possibility when dealing with Serapis…but this also showed that Serapis was holding back some when he found that it wasn't.

He climbed to his feet slowly and walked with wobbly steps towards Serapis. On the other side of the room he could see Kiani slumped over on the floor with a large gash in his head. Link looked at him a second more and realized he'd been knocked unconscious.

'_Great.' _Link thought as Serapis turned towards him with a reptilian smirk.

"Now I believe we're on even terms."

"If you can call superhuman strength even," Link retorted.

"You hold my abilities highly. I hope this means you've found me a worthy opponent."

"Once you're dead."

"That's not going to happen."

"We'll see," and Link barreled towards him.

Serapis slashed at Link with his claws, but Link was ready and dived to the side, performing a roll to his back and with exerted force, Link had luck with him as he nailed a weak spot in the back of Serapis's leg.

Serapis roared as Link fought to push his sword straight through, but managed to catch Link off guard when he dove into a roll and took Link with him.

First the wind was knocked out of him and then came the pain as the rolling mass that was Serapis kicked him away and up into the air.

Link watched with wary eyes as the ceiling suddenly loomed up just in front of him, but gravity kicked in just in time for him to avoid colliding with something twenty-five feet above the floor.

Serapis, however, had gotten out of his awkward roll and 'caught' Link before bouncing him back up again. "You make for a rather amusing toy," he said cruelly.

Link didn't respond as the air had been forced from his lungs yet again and the ceiling loomed up ever closer…yet again. This time Link did hit the ceiling, but it didn't disorient him enough to keep him from looking for some sort of handhold. If Serapis didn't get tired of this game, which he had a feeling he wouldn't, Link would be literally beaten to death. He had already taken enough damage as it was. Link was sturdy, but he knew he could only endure so much.

He didn't find a single handhold, as expected, but the nearest thing to one was a huge tapestry hanging several feet away. Link acted quickly and twisted himself so that his feet could act as a spring and propelled himself towards the decoration. It might not hold his weight, but it would slow his fall and help him avoid Serapis's reach. While Link did this, Serapis took the opportunity and tore the sword from its lodged position in his leg and threw it on the ground.

Link flew into the red velvet and clung on for dear life. Serapis's yellow eyes watched this with interest. When the tapestry didn't giveaway under Link's additional weight, Link showed no sign of moving. The question then was how to get him down. Serapis could just yank it down, but he had a more…interesting idea.

Link stared wide-eyed as Serapis did a similar trick to what he had done, only, from the ground with a _few_ more enhancements. With a great bound, Serapis ran to the wall nearest the dangling tapestry, twisted, and launched himself from it, performing a flip that built up his already crazy speed and left Link scrambling down the cloth as fast as he possibly could before Serapis found purchase and took the thing down himself.

Link made it about halfway down when there was the crisp sound of something ripping and deciding that he didn't want to chance getting tangled in the mess that would soon follow, Link jumped. At least this way he could land on his feet, though his shins would certainly feel the impact. He could duck into a roll, but the pain still lancing through him made him nervous and uneasy that he might screw his timing up and he'd end up with permanent brain damage let alone death, not that that was his biggest problem at the moment since he probably didn't have much time left anyway.

Link cringed as his feet touched ground and the impact rebounded through his system. Serapis landed steadily and the heavy tapestry collapsed to the ground just behind him.

"Neat trick, you think?" he said smugly.

Link glared. "Hmm…imitating me, now aren't we?"

"You have no powers for me to take, but your tricks are proving to be rather fun…though I felt I had to make a few modifications of my own for it to work."

"Real creative," Link snapped as a dazed Kiani sauntered up next to him; what had been a golden sword had morphed back into his lance.

"Gave me a real good head injury," Kiani muttered with the intent that only Link would hear it. He seemed dizzy and unsteady on his feet.

"I can see that, you gonna be ok?"

"Kiani nodded slowly and a charge of shadow energy burst across the length of his lance. "Let's do this."

Serapis held his claws up looking at them as though he were bored so that the points glistened to a fine glimmer of light as he waited for their next attack.

"So this has all become some sort of game to you?" Link growled.

Serapis dropped into a crouch. "Why yes, it has."

Link dropped into a similar stance, although less animal-like, and Kiani circled around closer to Serapis. Serapis charged and Link dove out of the way and retrieved his bloodied sword. He didn't get much time to get in a counterstrike as Serapis had immediately changed course and was practically on top of him, but Link managed to twirl around so that his sword could pierce through his midsection, or at least try to anyways. Serapis's scales had hardened too much over his stomach and all Link could do to keep Serapis from falling on him was work the strength in his arms and hold the sword as a barrier between them.

Serapis was incredibly heavy, as could be expected, and the hilt of his sword was starting to dig into his ribs despite the hands that held it. Serapis didn't try slashing at him, which was surprising, but it seemed he found it more amusing to kill him with the _hilt _of his own sword. With enough pressure, the hilt would shatter his ribs, and go much deeper than that once the bony barrier of his rib cage was taken care of.

Kiani saved him though by ramming his lance into Serapis's side with enough force to give Link a chance to escape and he did so by standing his sword on the ground and using it as support so he could pull himself up and get away. Pain laced its way across his middle. He knew he had to have a few cracked ribs and one heck of a bruise, if not worse.

Serapis lunged back to dislodge the lance and swiped at the lance's holder to keep him from trying something else. He did this only to have the shadow energy swirl around him and trace its way around his figure and filtered in through the fresh wounds that stood as definite weak spots. He hissed angrily and jumped away.

"I can't kill you, but…allow me to kill Link and I won't hurt you," Serapis said.

"I shouldn't have to allow you to do anything, he's yours for the taking…if you can," Kiani taunted back.

Link raised an eyebrow his direction but didn't comment. Serapis had had plenty of chances to kill him, but he had been playing games. It was childish, yet that overgrown snake seemed to be enjoying himself no matter how aggravated. It seemed more to Link that Serapis wanted him to suffer before he died. That he wasn't just seeking out a swift end for such a nuisance, but to extract full revenge with pain. Well, and he was simply playing with his food. Kiani must have caught on to this as well…but what he had in mind, Link didn't know.

Suddenly, Serapis was no longer there but another Link. Kiani laughed bitterly at this antic of Serapis's and shifted as well when Serapis dove for Link.

Link's eyes widened and he ducked aside, '_This is going to be fun…'_

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Hmm…Kinda dragged out the fight scene, but…I've got a plan so all is well…I hope…lol. Well, it was fun to write but…eh, I won't go into it, lol. Who cares what my opinion is anyway, I wanna know the opinions of you all out there readin' this here thing. ;) lol. Reviewer replies have been posted on my homepage for the last chapter so if you reviewed last time make sure you check those out. Thanks for bein' awesome!

Welp, I should be back next week with another update.

-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I don't own The Legend of Zelda. Serapis is mine…Kiani is mine…Fay, Nodin, Kitty, etc. are mine. Gee, for whatever reason I feel like I've gotten the short end of this whole ownership deal, lol.


	24. Animal

**Chapter 24  
****Animal**

Link had to move quickly to dodge another swipe of the shifted Serapis's sword. Of course more incentive was there because if Serapis managed to get a good slice in, Link would be skewered on the claws within the illusionary weapon.

Kiani and Link worked well together, carefully dodging in and out of harm's way as Serapis had to alternate attack plans to deal with each oncoming assault. Link knew Serapis wouldn't put up with this for long, however, and it was by that he knew the reptilian monster was hiding something. He didn't get to find out what that was until too late.

It had been difficult at times keeping track of which 'Link' was Kiani and which 'Link' was Serapis, but Link felt pretty confident with who was friend and who was foe. Serapis suddenly spun to the left, feinted an attack, and then turned to his right where Link was and delivered a ferocious onslaught of attacks to him, forcing Link to put up heavy defenses just to ward the blows off from this surprise attack. Finally, Serapis let off and Link was able to get a counterstrike in.

Serapis countered his thrust and flicked the sword from his hand so that it landed a few feet away. "Not bad for one who never wielded a sword, huh?" came Link's voice from who he knew to be Serapis.

Link didn't offer comment, ashamed he had been disarmed like this, and backflipped to quickly reach his sword and snatch it up into a defensive stance. Serapis and Kiani were exchanging blows. There was just one problem. For that brief moment Link's focus had not been on Serapis, he had lost track of who was who and the snake had taken full advantage of this and decided to higher the stakes a bit. Now he'd have to figure out which was which…and of course, it wouldn't be an easy matter because both could easily change into Kiani.

"I could use a little help here," said the 'Link' on the right as the other pummeled him with quick slashes of his sword.

"What game are you playing at?" snapped the one on the left. "Get over here Link, before he tries something else."

Link just stood there stunned, _'either you or he already has…' _

The Link on the right kicked the other's legs out from under him and managed to gain the advantage following this move. Link's mind raced. Serapis would follow along with this ploy until he had a chance to take a real good swing at him. He was ready to finish the battle, but still this new tactic of his would allow him to continue playing with his prey. How this fight was going to end, he didn't know. Recognizing different wounds would have been nice too, if Serapis hadn't also gone through and covered that up with some more shifting.

Finally, he just turned around and walked away. Serapis had laid a trap but he wasn't going to fall into it. He'd have to find another way to get through his defenses. What he didn't count out was the fact that Serapis would immediately grow frustrated with the failure of his little game and move in for an instant attack on Link.

Link's ears picked up the sound of a light whoosh from behind and attempted a dodge. He wasn't quick enough, however, and a set of claws raked down from his shoulder to mid-back before he was able to reach a better level of safety.

Link swung around to find Serapis had returned to his original form. He could see Kiani several feet behind him had done so as well.

"I'm fed up with these games, it's time to finish this," hissed the being before him. Then he froze, unsure of himself, and looked down at his claws. "What?"

"Get him, Link!" Kiani yelled, running up from behind.

Link reacted right away and went for a thrust through his middle. His sword was blocked by claws and sparks flew as the extra appendages scraped against the metal.

"Stop it, I'm not Serapis." Link blinked and withdrew, staggering back a few steps.

"What…?" He was totally lost. Kiani drove his lance through Serapis's leg, where a weak point had been found and the black energy surged through it.

Serapis roared and shook him off so that Kiani had to take the spear with him. "I'm Kiani, not him!" he boomed.

"I guess that whole stupidity hasn't quite worn off him," Kiani said coolly, looking at Link. "We go in for a good hit and then it's all up to you."

Link hesitated. This boy next to him had to be the real Kiani…Serapis couldn't sound this much like him…but, his doubt still lingered due to the odd way Serapis was acting. "Then we circle him, hit him one on each side and give it all we got," Link replied. He was focused on the task, but also wary of the two of them, looking for any sign that might be a giveaway.

Serapis's yellow eyes watched as they circled and then the next few moments were an astonishing blur of movement. The humanoid snake before him suddenly morphed into Kiani and moved in front to save Link from taking the devastating blow through his heart as the lance wielded by the other Kiani, who had teleported to Link's side, pierced through his.

The other, who he had thought before to be Kiani morphed into Serapis, cursing all the way, "He wasn't supposed to interfere!" and yanked his claws from Kiani's body.

They hadn't hurt Serapis enough. they hadn't done anything except be forced to play along with Serapis's games. His chances were now made slim and as Kiani's body collapsed to the floor free from the now bloodied claws, Link felt a pang of grief flood through him.

"Locked me in his form…couldn't change back…I'm…sorry…" Kiani's weak voice cut across the silence.

'_Where is Zelda?' _Link thought suddenly. She could heal him…save him from the verges of death. He didn't have to die like this, so suddenly. But Zelda didn't appear and Kiani's chest no longer rose with intakes of air.

Link's gripped tightened on the hilt of his sword. He was on his own now and he would have to rely on all his battle experience to win this. He would not let anyone have died in vain and he would defeat Serapis, no matter what it took.

Link could tell the dimwitted mindset was taking hold over Serapis again and knew it was his chance to strike good and hard. What surprised him most was when the swing of his blade was cut short and he was slammed into a nearby pillar by a heavy arm.

Serapis backed up with narrow eye slits opened wider, a kind of primitive look setting in versus the intelligence once held there. Link moaned as the pain rocked his body, but froze when Serapis dropped to all fours.

Serapis reared back his ugly head, with black scales alight, and unleashed the most unearthly roar Link had ever heard. Link collected himself despite the pounding in his eardrums. "That's not…good," the words slipped out aloud. What was taking place before him was too much to contain despite the fact that he was technically still talking to himself.

Link scrambled to get to his feet. His legs shook beneath him. Kiani's death had demoted Serapis from the intelligence of a human, but with a much deeper side effect. It had unleashed a dangerous and wild animal, one Link feared would be unstoppable. And he realized all this as Serapis stood still for an instant and then made a great bound off the floor in Link's direction.

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Hmm…this chapter was kinda...iffy. Sorry. o.o;

Welp, this here fanfic will be updated two weeks from this update. Sorry, but I'm goin' on vacation with my fam so…yup. o.o; I went to see the new _Fantastic Four _movie with my parents and sisters today and it was awesome! …though it was kinda short…

Anyways…reviewer replies have been posted on my homepage so be sure to check those out.

-_blondie91_

**Disclaimer**: I don't own The Legend of Zelda. Serapis, etc. are mine. Yippee.


	25. Tactical

**Chapter 25**

**Tactical**

Mere seconds ticked by, each taking with it Link's time to act. To safely dodge to the side would be impossible at this rate and that was where his dilemma came in. If Link died now, the opportunity Kiani had given him would go to waste. Serapis could now die with no thought whatsoever of teleporting away and healing himself, but killing him was going to be a problem. This Serapis would not hesitate to throw his strength around.

Link's eyes pinpointed on the small gap between Serapis and the ground… '_If I could just make that…'_ Link shook his head; this was no time for pondering his options. He had to take it and go, and go he did.

Link did not bother with any fancy somersaults and dove flat on his stomach so that he went sliding right under Serapis to the other side. Serapis hissed as he made contact with nothing but wall and braced his arms against it so that the rest of him would not crash into it.

Link acted quickly and whirled around, stabbing the golden blade he wielded deep into Serapis's leg. He was not willing to take any chances just now by stabbing Serapis in his back and hitting a hard spot. He worked his sword free again and took off running before Serapis could swing around and nail him. Serapis, however, did not wait to run off after him.

'_Coward,' _Link thought to himself. Link knew running would not last-Serapis was too fast…and the next thing Link knew was absolute pain as Serapis knocked him to the floor and held him there with one hand, digging his claws deep into Link's back. Link could feel blood spilling across his skin and hot breath on his neck as Serapis's teeth bore down on him.

Link fought the dejecting idea of the hopelessness in this situation and turned the sword hilt in his hand before stabbing backwards with as much force as he could muster while raising his arm in that direction. Serapis let go as Link's attack found purchase and Link did not take the time to get his sword back and left it lodged in Serapis, wherever it was, and squirmed away.

Link turned to face Serapis in a defensive stance and yanked his bow free and notched an arrow, training it on Serapis's head. He could go for the eye…or the throat. Link's sword had struck right through Serapis's jaws and held them immobile with a slight gap in between. Link swiftly acted and fired.

The arrow passed through the opening and Serapis choked out a growl and yanked the sword out first, opening a free flowing river of blood in the process. Next he proceeded to stick a clawed hand into his large mouth and pull the arrow free. _'Well,' _Link thought, _'I guess he isn't that stupid…'_

Link made to dive for his sword, but Serapis anticipated this and stomped his foot down in front of it. Link would have thought this intelligent for the state of mind Serapis was now in, but this act seemed like an animal protecting its shiny treasure more than anything. Well in this case, blood crusted shiny treasure.

Link pulled free the extra sword from its hilt across his back and backed up slowly. This room was too open, and Link wasn't fast enough to escape this primitive creature with nothing to dodge around.

Serapis lunged in with claws outstretched and Link attempted to dodge, but this was to no avail. Serapis grabbed his arm and yanked him towards him, all the while his claws found deep purchase through Link's chest and out the back.

Link's mind raced with precious memories as his life flowed out of him and Serapis's roar of conquer pounded through his ears.

…How had he failed? He had never done so badly before when it came to Serapis. And all those times Serapis had been much smarter than this. It was pathetic and now everyone would have died in vain. All because of him…He was a disgrace to the country. Some hero he was.

It was as these negative thoughts assailed him and Serapis's body seemed to pitch forward, that his eyes closed and his breathing became haggard and all the pain seemed to fade away when a thought came to him. He had never failed this miserably because a smart Serapis had cared about his life. This new Serapis was…hungry.

Link pieced the rest together quickly. Without animal instincts dominating, Serapis had been able to control himself despite the fact that he was supposedly a 'bottomless pit' when it came to food. Now Serapis was possessed by pure instinct and since Link was the nearest target, the overgrown snake did not care if he got hurt or had time to gloat, just so long as he got food.

Link had been a fool before; he had not been attacking with the right strategies in mind. Serapis had once been tactical and keen about his moments to strike; this was tricky, but outsmarting him was possible. This new Serapis was not at all like this and Link had still kept the same standpoint, attacking with the same strategies…only with a more desperate air about him. Serapis was not stronger now that his mind had dimmed, he was still the same. He would still bleed and feel pain. He just did not care about his general welfare enough and Link had failed to tap into this fact…and now he was dying, if not dead already.

Link forced his eyes open in order to take in his surroundings. Much to his surprise, he found the princess leaning over him with tears in her eyes. She gasped in surprise and backed off.

Link found he was able to sit up and did so. "What happened?" he demanded with a fury that left even him shocked.

"Impa…distraction…Oh Link, I thought you were dead!" she tackled him with a surprisingly strong hug that sent him toppling to the ground.

Link stared with confused eyes. This was highly uncharacteristic of the Zelda of late, but then he snapped out of his stupor and gently eased her off, finding his body to be well intact. "Where am I now then, if Impa is off distracting…Serapis?"

"She saw that you were dying Link, we had to get you out of there. Impa didn't know how long she could hold out, certainly no longer than you had, so as much as I hate to say this Link, you've got to hurry. We're just outside the main hall--…"

A thundering crash echoed from the other side of the wall and Link hopped up. Zelda had thoroughly healed him and it was now that he noticed the shadows under her eyes, how much energy she must have used to save him. Anger flashed through him after realizing she had not been there for Kiani, but her act of kindness coupled with the fact that Kiani's death really was inevitable halted him from saying anything hurtful.

"Thank you, Zelda," he said instead and immediately took off running without waiting for a response…or taking the time to come up with a plan.

When he returned to the scene of the battle he froze in horror. Impa stood hunched over against a wall while Serapis stood in the room's center devouring Kiani's body.

Link shook it off and darted to Impa's side. "Leave now, I'll handle it from here."

Impa shook her head, "No, he's too strong. Even for you, Hero."

"I handled Ganondorf and I'll handle this _thing_. No matter what it takes, I'll do it, now go. I can't--…" his words were cut off went Serapis gave vent to a terrifying roar and fixed his yellow eyes in their direction.

Link shoved Impa in the way of the door and took a step towards Serapis in an effort to keep his interest from her. Impa was weak and though she had done her part to keep Serapis distracted, it was his fight now and his alone. No one could help him.

It dawned on him finally, as Impa smartly disappeared through the door and Serapis threw himself into a thundering charge, that he had failed to make a plan. To fight Serapis just as he had before was idiotic, but with nothing coming to mind, his limbs filled with a leaden weight as a sense of panic filled him and Serapis giant form loomed closer…especially when he realized he did not have a sword on hand.

Acting quickly though, he managed to save himself from the assault by timing his step just right and twirling away from Serapis's backward grab for him as the creature skidded to a heavy stop.

His mind raced. He had dealt with monsters before. They had been bigger, faster, stronger…What was so different about Serapis? All had wanted his blood on their hands, he was missing something.

Normally he could strategize, plan and come out ahead, but time was running out. He could feel the end calling to him as Serapis swung his bulk around and stood in all his power before Link.

As he locked wary eyes with the creature, however, he realized what he needed to do.

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Short yes, and I'm sorry about that as for a lot of other things (such as the year long wait for an update), but I will say I think it's slightly longer than last chapter… :D I plan on posting a fanfic after this one actually, one that will be consistently updated once a week, and that was my incentive to finish this one. Feel free to ask me about anything you don't remember…I had to go through and reread everything and I'm the writer, lol. There won't be any reviewer replies for last chapter since it's been forever and a day, but by next chapter they'll be back. Anyways, I hope to hear from those that are hopefully still with me…

-blondie91


	26. Deliverance

**Chapter 26**

**Deliverance**

Looking back at such a rival as Ganondorf, even as formidable as he was, he had had a weakness in his strength. Though this had been carried out by the use of a sword when he reflected Ganondorf's own dark energy back at him, it still followed that concept. Even with Serapis's former self he had done this by outsmarting his smart moves…

The only problem with the current situation was that Serapis's current state was greatly mobilized by hunger, and how did one turn hunger, let alone brute strength, against an opponent?

Link was glad to have finally recalled that something he had lost earlier, but in his present situation, it did him no good. The key to defeating his former great rivals was tapping into their weakness and that sometimes took some serious strategizing. Here Serapis was capable of coming to harm only with excessive difficulty, however, yet Link knew his weakness. In addition to his mouth being the obvious target, Serapis's lack of caring for his own well-being due to his intense hunger was another crucial weakness. Link just had absolutely no idea how to use that.

When Serapis had charged him, he had not come with mouth gaping open and ready to take a direct hit right down his throat again, so that entry had mostly been closed off to him. The rest of Serapis was a random hit or miss as to whether or not Link would be able to break through the scales. Not even a decent sword strike guaranteed him anything.

Any animal could learn from pain and the possibility of nailing him with a good blow to the mouth was becoming slimmer and slimmer as Link watched in slow motion, as he had been this whole time, Serapis crouch into pouncing position and push off from the ground.

Link attempted to dodge the mass that was flying towards him, but succeeded only with a narrow escape. Serapis's claws, however, raked away a good chunk of flesh from his left side as he dived to the right.

Blood streamed through the fresh tears in his clothes and skin as Link stumbled and fell in the aftermath of the blow. He caught himself with his hands before he completely hit the ground and struggled to push himself back up with those same, yet now blood soaked, hands, but he failed miserably.

As his hands slipped from under his weight, his chin slammed into the ground and he laid there in agony as pain wracked through him. He had gotten back into the fight, yet already he was down.

Gritting his teeth, Link maneuvered himself carefully this time and was on his feet in no time. A wave of dizziness washed over him and through it he saw with great horror that Serapis was already coming back for a repeat of the last attack, a repeat that was sure to kill him.

Link glanced around frantically trying to pinpoint where his sword was. In all this time he had stupidly forgotten about his sword again as he made pitiful attempts to stay alive. Finally locating it, he sprinted in a diagonal path out from the shadow of Serapis in the direction of his sword.

Serapis had not built up quite enough momentum to cause him to barrel on past and so he was able to turn on Link, lunge for him, and get his hand around Link's leg while digging several claws into it.

A gasp escaped Link at the shock of this action and he was forced to the floor again as Serapis jerked him backwards. What made the situation even more frustrating was that his sword lay just inches away from his finger tips. Serapis was much too strong, however, and it was just a matter of seconds before Serapis would finish him off once and for all.

With this thought in mind, Link stretched forward despite the gash in his side and missed by a hair.

In retaliation, Serapis jerked him back harder and Link suddenly found himself dangling in the air upside down as Serapis held him by the lower half of his leg. "It seems even my inferior self was quite capable of apprehending you. That is quite satisfactory."

Link gaped in astonishment as Serapis slowly twisted him around to face him. It had been so long since he had heard that voice, but he no longer knew which Serapis was the more formidable-either was highly capable of killing him in his current situation. "H-how…?" Link eventually stammered.

"There is no how. It simply seems I have overpowered my primal half temporarily so that I might be lucid enough to enjoy your defeat," Serapis hissed in pleasure at this thought.

Blood from the wound in his side flowed to his head where it visibly dripped onto his face. Link could see Serapis eying him hungrily as the crimson continued to spread. If only he could get to his sword…This Serapis liked to talk too much, so a chance to strike his mouth was at hand.

"Since you are in such a weakened state I think I might make you suffer rather well before I get around to killing you, though I mustn't keep it too long or I fear my less desirable half will present himself once more."

Link could not bite down a scream when Serapis tightened his hand so tightly that nearly every bone in his shin and foot distinctly cracked.

Numbness from shock had already spread to his side, but it did not move fast enough to shield his mind from the torrential pain that racked his freshly broken leg. Serapis laughed at this and took his other leg, allowing the other to fall loosely down to him in such a way that no leg should.

Faced with the possibility of more excruciating pain quickly on its way and the hopelessness of his situation, Link was hit by the perfect idea. It was dangerous and stupid, but one way or another he was about to die. He would rather take his opponent out with him versus die in the helpless state he was currently in.

He had to work Serapis into a blood-frenzy. He had to make the creature have a desire so strong for Link's immediate death that he could not resist. The switch back to Serapis's other self would disorient him enough to allow Link a brief moment of freedom. Freedom enough to grab his sword, implant the crystal Kiani had given him into the metal, and stab it down the throat of the cavernous mouth as it lunged for him.

Whether he made it out alive was no longer the issue. For Hyrule he had to succeed, for the Guardians that had held their posts for so long. He could not let those now dead have died in vain. Now was the time to act and now was as good a time as any to die.

Through the blood that seeped into his eyes, Link somehow seemed to distance himself from his body as Serapis snapped the other leg and the pain did not hit him so hard. Thinking quickly and acting just as fast, Link ripped off his blood drenched shirt and threw the fabric right into Serapis's wide open mouth immediately putting a halt to his evil laughter.

The blood of his enemy on his tongue did exactly as Link had expected it would. Serapis stumbled back in a total daze and his hold on Link failed. With only seconds to move, Link pulled himself across the cold floor with his arms while his legs trailed uselessly behind him. He did not stop to survey the damage done to them and traveled onwards to the sword.

Hearing the roar behind him, Link knew the change had completed and he pulled himself along faster. When he reached the sword and held it in his hand, he reached into his pocket and thankfully found the crystal was still there despite his upside down trip. The sword's metal seemed to accept the crystal even though there was not a slot in it anywhere and absorbed it into its tip.

Link did not stop to think on the strangeness of this, but turned around and found Serapis to be nearly on top of him. Channeling the last of his strength and hoping the crystal would prove potent enough, Link dove forward into the cavernous mouth to meet his fate.

He watched the sword light up with an unmatched brilliance as light exploded into existence, but then darkness consumed him as his momentum carried him on.

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Well, I was shocked at how little I really had left in this story to get to the end. There's one more chapter after this and that's it. Now that I see all I had to do was come up with three more chapters, I feel pretty foolish, but oh well, that's life for ya I suppose. Welp, thanks for reading and the last update for this story will come on Sunday night and then it'll be on to a new, more consistently updated/longer chaptered story!

-blondie91


	27. Truce

**Chapter 27**

**Truce**

Glimpses of the world seemed to flash in and out. The pain had come back and was stronger than before; that was the only thing that told him he was still alive. Often he heard screaming and shocked himself each time he finally realized it was coming from him.

Voices every so often would fill his head, but they melded together in such a muddled blur that he could make nothing of them. He must have been imagining the slow passage of time for surely he was dying and there was not enough blood in his body to have kept him alive for as long as it had, yet here he was. Somehow he was still alive. Serapis would have to be dead for that to be the case though; otherwise it would not make even the little sense it did.

He had mistaken his death before when Zelda had saved him. That had not been the real thing, although it would have if Serapis had been able to deal more damage. Time passed much too slowly when before it had seemed like a much quicker end, unless his perception of time was completely off.

Either way though, there was no chance for him to make it. Death was inevitable. He had been too badly broken for it not to be and Zelda was surely spent from earlier.

Eventually he became annoyed by the slow movement of time. The pain was not going away and as death escaped him, so did his chance of peace. When his eyes finally snapped open he shut them again, untrusting the brief image he had seen.

"Link?" Impa's familiar voice broke through his thoughts and he slowly opened his eyes again.

Bewilderment filled him at the sight of the older Sheikah woman leaning over the bed he rested on and she pressed a cold rag to his forehead.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Terrible," he barely croaked out, shocked at the meek sound of his voice.

"But alive," she added smiling.

Pillows propped up his sore back and he stared miserably at the sheet covering his body from chest down, wondering what state his legs were in. "How?" he asked.

"Zelda channeled what energy she could to you. It was just enough to keep you alive. My healing knowledge has helped you recover from there, though I've only been able to do so much…"

The hesitant way she said this concerned him, "How bad is it?"

She winced at his question. "Well, the wound in your side is healing up nicely, but your legs…That creature completely crushed the lower halves of both of them and I did what I could, but I'm not sure if you will be able to walk ever again. To add to the mess, Serapis's teeth got to them in the carry out of the final blow."

Link took this information with an outward calm, but inwardly his mind raced in a total panic at this. To never walk again would be pure torture for someone such as him, let alone anyone else. He breathed as deep as his tired lungs would let him and exhaled with the question, "Is there hope?"

"Well, that depends. Can you feel them now?" she asked.

"Yeah, they hurt," Link replied automatically.

She nodded, "Then there is still hope if the nerves haven't been damaged enough to cause paralysis. Only time will tell, but for now you'll be bed bound, though I have to admit that you've been a bit vocal about the pain."

Link blushed faintly at this comment and asked, "What happened to Serapis? I don't understand…if I was in his mouth, how did Zelda get me out?"

Impa shook her head, "She didn't have to. Whatever you did killed that monstrosity and totally vaporized his body."

Link's mouth dropped to hear this, but then another thought came to him, "And how's…Zelda?"

"She went comatose for a few days, but she eventually came out of it after enough rest. She's perfectly all right now."

"How long has it been?"

"Well…it's been two weeks since you defeated Serapis." She rolled the sheet up to his knees and he saw his legs wrapped tightly in bandages. "I was hoping you'd still be asleep. I was about to take the bandages off of your legs and there'll be plenty of movement…"

"I'll survive no matter how much it hurts," Link assured her, but his body was already filling with dread at the idea of more pain." Just…if you could hurry, I think that would be best."

"Of course," Impa said.

She signaled to a maid standing against the wall Link had not noticed before to come forward, and the girl braced her hands against the bend at the back of his knee as Impa gently eased his right leg up so she could unwrap his current bandages.

The pain burst through him with the press of fingers and when she started peeling away the bandage, he tightly gripped the sheets of his bed in an effort not to scream and embarrass himself further. Impa searched his face carefully as she efficiently, but gently, eased the bandage from his skin. Shock at the sickly purple color of his skin startled him enough to save himself from a few seconds of pain, but it did not last and he was forced to grit his teeth as well.

Ultimately Impa finished that leg and moved to the next after directing the maid to fluff the pillow that had been beneath it. The other leg proved just as excruciating as the first and Link was not able to release his tense grip. When Impa finished, she cautiously rolled the sheet back down over his shins and feet.

"This is going to be a long recovery, huh?" Link asked dejectedly when the pain had ebbed enough for him to regain his tongue.

"Yes, but where there is life there is hope. Have patience, be strong, and you'll be on your feet in no time," Impa said. "Now get some rest and I'll check up on you later."

Impa and the maid exited and Link was surprised to see Zelda enter in their stead. She looked awkward and out of place, but none the worse for wear. He had no idea how to approach her now after what she had done, though he was sure deep down she was still the same girl that had broken his heart so long ago.

Luckily, she was the one who took the first speaking initiative between them. "I'm glad you are ok," was all she said though.

"It's you I have to thank for that…" he said softly, totally unsure of himself.

"It wouldn't have been fair to leave you to die, not after what you'd done."

Link sensed a deeper reason but weariness swept over him and he found himself fading into a restful oblivion. As his eyes closed he thought he had seen Zelda smile at him, but his mind registered it as a dream and peace finally enveloped him.

xxxxxxxxxx

Several months passed before Link regained the ability to walk. Though it was with the embarrassing use of a cane, at least he would not be an invalid for the rest of his life.

Impa had seemed pleased with his rate of recovery, but every waking step of the way had forced him to endure pure boredom. At least the living Serapis had saved him from that torture, but even in the creature's death, his hold on Link's life prevailed and Impa was certain he would remain with a limp. As it was though, that was definitely better than nothing.

According to Impa, Zelda had overextended the ability of her limited healing magic and could do no more. It would take too much time to depend on her ability anytime soon, so Link had accepted the slow, albeit miserable, healing process.

Restless and ready for action, Link planned to leave as soon as he was able. He felt he needed to get out into the world. Three days spent underground and all his time stuck in recovery had made him sick of being indoors. Sure his caretakers had allowed him passage into the castle's courtyard, but his heart and mind craved the open expanses of all the places outside his current domain. To ride Epona again soon was his ultimate short term goal.

He had to give it another week and a half before Impa had all but guaranteed his release so long as he promised to take extra precautions and care exceptionally well for himself. This meant no training or engaging in combat of any sort, plus he would have to be sure to eat plenty on a regular basis. Here at the castle he had eaten only under threats to extend his stay despite his loss of appetite.

Staggering through the courtyard towards the monument that had been set up in memory of Kitty, Kiani, Nodin, and Fay, Link was surprised when he heard another set of footsteps take residence behind his. He stopped upon reaching the site and turned around to see Zelda approaching him with eyes staring intently at the ground.

"Can I…talk to you for a minute, Link?" she asked him.

Link was even more surprised by this. Throughout the duration of his recovery time they had said very little to each other, so he had no idea what she could be wanting from him now. He nodded in consent though, that she should continue.

She slowly lifted her gaze to meet his and for whatever reason, she seemed nervous. "It's just that I heard you would be leaving soon and Link, I'm sorry about before. I hurt you and it was wrong of me.

Although the before had occurred what felt like forever ago, Link instantly knew to what she was referring. "Well, I forgive you if that is what you are looking for," he replied.

"My father plans to honor you as a hero before you leave, Link...It was meant to be a surprise, but…" she hesitated. "What I really wanted to tell you Link, was that…I love you."

Link moved his mouth to speak, but she hurriedly started talking again and did not give him the chance. "Please, just hear me out before you say anything. I've felt as though a piece of me were missing. Gone are the days of our love, and so it seems you took my happiness with you. If you would take me back, I would do my best to erase the bitter, snobby person I have become…We could try again. My father would deem you worthy as well; you'd never have to fear the coward in me again."

Link was stunned at this outpour of thought from her. It took him another moment to respond, but she waited patiently, watching him in earnest. Finally he said after much consideration of her proposal, "It is much harder to heal a broken heart, Zelda, and it is even harder to reverse change. To go back to our old ways seems impossible at this point. Maybe someday we can be together in such a relationship again, but not now."

She appeared disappointed by his answer, but not completely put out. "Then I will wait for that someday."

"No, Zelda. You must keep living your life, the one you intended after getting rid of me. I was able to let you go only recently, but I did it. Now it's your turn to do the same. Let the future bring what it may, but don't waste your life away waiting for slim possibilities," Link said. "Thank you for sharing your feelings with me. In this way you have allowed us a parting as friends, or so I hope."

Tears rose to her eyes at this and he pulled her into an awkward hug. He then released her and strode on by.

Filled with fresh determination at this, he felt ready to face anything that lay ahead. The Guardians had given him a life to live through the sacrifice of their own, and now Zelda no longer felt like an unsteady burden to bear on his heart.

The future was his to hold.

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Welp, that was the end. I hope it wasn't a crummy one, but what do I know? Regardless, I'm excited to have this done because now I have posted the first chapter to my new Zelda fic _Identity Crisis_, so if anyone's interested, please check it out and that'd make me super happy. Thank you reviewers for all your support and I suppose to readers too…for reading it. : )

-blondie91


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